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Short History

The Science Council of Japan hosted the Asian Conference on Scientific Cooperation (ACSC) in Tokyo a total of eight times from 1993 to 2000 with the aim of promoting cooperation in scientific research among Asian countries. Invited to the conference were leading scientists from Japan, China, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. As scientists from these ten countries developed trust through their participation in the ACSC, they came to recognize the necessity of transforming the ACSC into a permanent and independent entity to pool the wisdom of the scientists from this region and communicate the results of their research to the rest of the world. Such a framework would help the region more actively address the diverse and urgent science-related issues common to Asian countries, including population problems, medical care, food, water, energy, and knowledge of and education in the sciences.

The ACSC completed its mission at its eighth meeting held in May 2000, when representatives from the ten countries established a new scientific organization named the Science Council of Asia (SCA). The first SCA conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in May 2001.

The annual SCA conference is held on a rotational basis so that each member country can actively participate in and contribute to the SCA. The annual conference consists of a General Assembly, a Management Board Meeting, and a Symposium which provides for discussions among scientists, engineers, policymakers, and students from Asia. Mongolia has joined the SCA as the 11th member country since 2004.

SCA Presidents