UNU Senior Vice-Rector Shirahase Elected as International Science Council Vice President

The International Science Council (ISC) has announced the election of United Nations University Senior Vice-Rector Sawako Shirahase as ISC Vice President for Finance of the Council. Elections for the ISC Governing Board, whose members will serve for three years, were held during the online ISC General Assembly on 14 October 2021.

The ISC is the only international nongovernmental organization that brings together the natural and social sciences. Formed in 2018 through a merger of the International Council of Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC), its mission is to be “a trusted voice that speaks for the value of all science”.

Headquartered in Paris, the ISC comprises some 40 international scientific unions and associations and more than 140 national and regional scientific organizations. Among its members is the Science Council of Japan.

A renowned Japanese sociologist, Prof. Shirahase is Senior Vice-Rector of the United Nations University (UNU), having joined UNU on 1 October 2021. In that post, she holds the rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prof. Shirahase has been a Professor of Sociology in the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology at the University of Tokyo since 2010, and served a term as the University of Tokyo’s Executive Vice President for International Affairs.

“I am very honoured, and at the same time feel a sense of deep responsibility, over my selection as the vice president for finance of the International Science Council,” said Prof. Shirahase. “As we continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of science has never been more important; there is a clear need to build a new relationship between science and society on a global level.”

“As a member of the Governing Board of ISC in the field of social science, I hope to contribute to the development of new academic institutions that transcend the boundaries of humanities and science.”