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Science diplomacy enthusiasts in Southeast Asia have conducted their own workshop on the topic, modelled on the flagship course on the topic that TWAS co-organizes annually in Trieste, Italy.

The event was held in in Bangkok, Thailand, from 19–24 August 2024, and is a pilot of a programme they hope to make a recurring, regular event. It was inspired by the AAAS-TWAS Science Diplomacy Course, which is co-organized every year by TWAS and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The Thai regional workshop gathered 19 early-to-mid career scientists and policymakers from nine countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Myanmar. The event also welcomed participants from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea—or “ASEAN Plus Three” —and one attendee from Japan joined the event.

"The first pilot science diplomacy workshop for early to mid-career researchers in ASEAN Plus Three was launched in Bangkok with a goal to embark on a journey of knowledge, to get to understand the importance of science diplomacy,” said Orakanoke Phanraksa, Head of the international affairs division for Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI).

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Phanraska was one of four Thai participants in the 2023 AAAS-TWAS Course, who attended with the intention of transferring its teachings to their home region. “The workshop was very successful and inspiring enough such that the participants agreed to pursue this initiative by planning to work on a comparative study on the science advisory system in ASEAN,” she said.

Just like the flagship AAAS-TWAS course, attendees formed participant pairs—one scientist and one seasoned policy or diplomacy professional—who worked together to learn how to understand the interaction of the two fields.

The course also included the usual simulation exercises that reflected real-world cross-border issues related to science—such as illegal trafficking of an endangered species and building a dam on a transboundary river. The simulation showed attendees what it’s like to conduct negotiations to settle such tense diplomatic issues in which science plays a key role.

“TWAS was very pleased to host members of TSRI at our workshop in Trieste in 2023,” said TWAS Science Diplomacy Unit Coordinator Peter McGrath, who joined the event in Bangkok as a speaker. “It's wonderful to see them now taking this idea forward and replicating our AAAS-TWAS training workshop on science diplomacy for the ASEAN region.”

Sean Treacy