International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP)

Basic Sciences bring new knowledge and a deep understanding of natural phenomena that shape our Universe. The development of basic sciences underlies technological breakthroughs and offers unique opportunities to meet basic human needs, produce economic, social and environment benefits, thus contributing to the global Sustainable Development Goals. In this light, the International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP) was established to further develop intergovernmental cooperation for the strengthening of national capacities in the basic sciences and science education.

• Building national capacities for basic research, training, science education and popularisation of science through international and regional cooperation in development-oriented areas of national priority;
• Transfer and sharing of scientific information and excellence in science through North-South and South-South cooperation;
• Providing scientific expertise for, and advice to, policy- and decision-makers, and increasing public awareness of ethical issues that progress in science entails.

To attain these objectives, the IBSP seeks to build major region-specific actions in cooperation with partner organizations and networks of national, regional and international centres of excellence or benchmark centres already in existence or to be created in the basic sciences.

IBSP supports projects in mathematics, physics, chemistry and the life sciences, and their interdisciplinary areas, i.e projects that require research in the basic sciences, including when the basic sciences provide a means to solve a problem in another area. For example, research on the mechanisms of cell-cell interaction and its implications for combating disease would be a project within the purview of IBSP.

The Scientific Board of the International Basic Sciences Programme serves to advise the Director-General. It meets at least once a year to supervise the implementation of IBSP, to study proposals concerning developments and modifications of the programme, to assist in the development of national, regional and international projects related to IBSP, to evaluate project proposals received, and to make recommendations on new IBSP projects and IBSP projects being implemented, and for any measures that may be required for the successful implementation and development of the programme.

Bureau of the IBSP Scientific Board

Chair
Dr Merieme Chadid      
Astronomer, Explorer, and Astrophysicist
Morocco

Vice-Chair

Prof. Christopher M.A. Brett
President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
Portugal

Members of the IBSP Scientific Board

Group 1: Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Dr Phil Mjwara
Director-General, Department of Science and Technology,
South Africa    

Dr Mouhamed Moustapha Fall
Professor of Mathematics, President of the  African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Senegal Centre,
Senegal    

Prof. Shohini Ghose;
Professor of Physics and Computer Science, Wilfrid Laurier University,
Canada    

Prof. Stanislav Dovgyi
President of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
Ukraine

Prof. Dunja Mladenić
Head of Department for Artificial Intelligence, Jozef Stefan Institute
Slovenia    

Dr Anas bin Faris Al-Faris
Co-Founder and CEO of Intelmatix
Emeritus President of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST),
Saudi Arabia

Dr Merieme Chadid
Astronomer, Explorer, and Astrophysicist
Morocco

Group 2: Chemical Sciences

Prof. Christian Amatore
Emeritus Director of Research, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS),
France    

Prof. Christopher M.A. Brett
President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
Portugal     

Dr Nana Ama Browne Klutse
Senior lecturer, University of Ghana and African Institute of Mathematical Sciences,
Ghana

Prof. Ahmed Al-Harrasi
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nizwa,
Oman    

Prof. Alexei R. Khokhlov
Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Russian Federation    

Dr Najat A. Saliba
Executive Director, Khaddit Beirut (The Shake up of Beirut), Professor, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, American University of Beirut,
Lebanon

Group 3: Biological Sciences

Dr Fernan Federici
Assistant Professor,
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC),
Argentina       

Prof. Rosana Pelayo Camacho
Principal Investigator, Oncoimmunology and Cytomics ; Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Oriente, CIBIOR; Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS Delegación Puebla,
Mexico

Prof. Yin Li
Professor,Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
China

Dr Gonzalo Moratorio
Associate Professor, Universidad De La República,
Uruguay    

Prof. Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan
Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India,
India

Group 4: science communication

Sandy Ong 
Science journalist,
Singapore

Daniel Otunge
Deputy Executive Director, Science Africa,
Kenya