The TWAS Regional Office for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific has launched a new website ­– fully redesigned and modernised – to inform the region and the world about its activities.

The site offers an easy-to-navigate point of access to a range of regional programmes offered by the Beijing-based office, as well as to programmes and centres of excellence operated by TWAS and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

In style and content, the site expresses the commitment of the regional office to advance science in the region and to promote the global mission and activities of TWAS.  It projects a clean, contemporary look that is visually engaging, while conveying confidence and a dedication to excellence.

The regional office, hosted at CAS headquarters, is an active hub for scientific education, training and capacity-building. The website was designed so that visitors would get a positive first impression of the centre's work, and so that they can easily learn about the opportunities available through the regional office and TWAS.

The site provides a full list of TWAS Fellows and Young Affiliates who live or work within the East and South-East Asia and Pacific region. It also features a calendar for event announcements, plus quick access to a film on the CAS-TWAS Centres of Excellence.

The Academy has five regional offices in all – in Brazil, China, Egypt, India and South Africa. They carry out vital functions: They provide scientific and career information to scientists throughout the developing world. They nominate scientists for TWAS membership and prizes, select Young Affiliates, and organize conferences. In the process, they raise awareness of TWAS and its programmes among scientists in each region.

Edward W. Lempinen