India and UNESCO are jointly organising the 2024 Edition of Chief Science Advisers Roundtable (CSAR) at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 6 September.

The roundtable was conceptualised and launched as a Sherpa-track initiative during India’s G20 Presidency last year.

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Delegates from 28 countries, led by their Chief Science Advisers (CSA) or nominated equivalents, and 6 international organisations will join this roundtable to discuss the theme “Fostering open science, bridging knowledge asymmetry, and building science advice capacity globally”.

The roundtable will be co-chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof Ajay Kumar Sood and the Assistant Director General (ADG – Natural Sciences) of UNESCO, Dr Lidia Brito.

The CSAR 2024 will be preceded with a free-flowing knowledge session discussing the impact of the science advice mechanisms in building trust in science and will generate insights on building science advice capacity at the country, regional and international levels. This open session will provide an opportunity for a dialogue between Chief Scientific Advisers and equivalents, the UNESCO Permanent Delegations of various member countries and the representatives of the international scientific and science advisory bodies.

This 2024 edition of the roundtable will also pave the way forward for the continuation of this effort with South Africa taking this initiative forward.