The NSW Government is extending its support of the Royal Society of New South Wales by a further three years, to 2027.
NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said that the funding extension would enable the Royal Society to increase the scope of the outstanding contribution it makes to NSW.
“The Royal Society of New South Wales is the oldest learned society in the southern hemisphere and recently celebrated its 200th birthday. Today, its stated mission for our State is as important as ever: ‘To contribute to a just, secure and sustainable society… by providing authentic and authoritative information and enlightenment on a wide range of subjects, addressing national and global challenges, and recognising and promoting excellence’,” Professor Durrant-Whyte said.
“This funding will support of the Royal Society’s annual Learned Academies Forum at Government House Sydney and live streaming of NSW events. In addition, it will allow the Royal Society to establish a branch in the Northern Tablelands region to add to the recently established Western NSW Branch, thus attracting a diverse membership from NSW regional areas.”
President of the Royal Society of NSW, Dr Susan Pond AM said the funding would also provide crucial administrative and modern technical support, allowing the Society to expand its reach as a thought leader and promote talent across the State.
“On the international stage, the Society is digitising all articles in its Journal and Proceedings since the 1800s. It will now work with the Smithsonian’s Biodiversity Heritage Library to produce Digital Object Identifiers to make this invaluable resource searchable.
“In addition, new awards will be introduced this year to shine a light on our future leaders in the sciences and humanities. These include the new Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Scholar Medal, Early Career Medal, Interdisciplinary Awards and Bicentennial Scholarships,” Dr Pond said.
The total funding allocation is $324,000.
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Bruce Ritchie | OCSE | 0429 412 426