The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) will jointly host the 2023 BRICS Academies Forum on 1-2 December 2023 in Pretoria, South Africa. The Forum is the body of science academies of the BRICS member states including the: Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and ASSAf. The theme of the 2023 BRICS Academies Forum Meeting is “Inter-Academy Collaboration on Global Crises” which is grounded on the 2023 BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) theme; “Building BRICS and Africa Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism”.

The BRICS Academies embrace the reality that present day nations face no single grand challenge but multiple interactive challenges that require transdisciplinary cooperation at various geographical scales. For instance, accelerated climate change, enduring energy poverty, and the persistence of socio-economic inequalities are amongst the most prescient global challenges that demands our collective attention and creativities of all the peoples of the planet to remedy and redress. The BRICS countries have each experienced the CoVID-19 uniquely, however, they have all had to craft a range of recovery and reconstruction initiatives to ensure socio-economic resilience where the STI ecosystem plays a critical role.

The hosting of the BRICS Academies Symposium provides an opportunity for the five academies to engage on how the BRICS member States recognise global crises and the processes advanced to ensure that their respective STI systems can provide evidence-based solutions to secure a better future for all. The BRICS Academies Symposium will deliberate on inputs from the five countries and it is anticipated that the outputs of the meeting will be segmented to afford global, continental, regional, and domestic lessons to surface and to encourage learning and knowledge sharing amongst the BRICS member States. It is upon this empirically grounded work that a proposal for a BRICS Inter-Academy Panel on Global Crises will also be advanced to further reinforce collaboration and cooperation in STI amongst the BRICS.

The Presidents of the BRICS Academies have committed their Academies to participate in this first in person meeting since the COVID-19 global lockdown. ASSAf Acting President, Prof Stephanie Burton and DSI Deputy Director-General,  for International Cooperation and Resources, Mr Daan du Toit look forward to welcoming the delegations of the BRICS Academies to the warm and sunny capital city of South Africa, Pretoria.