Academy News June

Today is the final day of National Reconciliation Action Week. We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.

2021 marks twenty years of Reconciliation Australia and almost three decades of Australia’s formal reconciliation process.

Find out more about National Reconciliation Week #MoreThanAWord #NRW2021

The Uluru Statement from the Heart has been awarded the Sydney Peace Prize, now four years since its development and publication. This is great recognition of the importance of the Statement – congratulations to all those who have worked so hard on this and continue to work to see constitutional recognition and a voice to Parliament, including Academy Fellow Megan Davis. I am very pleased that the Academy is launching its Reconciliation Action Plan later in the month. And let me remind you that this is a journey for all of us.

The Federal Budget handed down in the last month provided no relief for the university sector which is struggling with the loss of international students. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a public health and economic crisis but has also highlighted the weaknesses in Australia’s social infrastructure, with aged care being the most significant and widespread problem at the moment. As the current Victorian situation demonstrates, this pandemic and its consequences are far from over. Australia’s capability and resilience in responding to the pandemic, and its capacity to meet the myriad challenges in restoring and rejuvenating a fair society depend on good social science. Now is the time to invest in social sciences education and research; and I hope that our report on the State of the Social Sciences will help us make this case more strongly.

I wrote a few months ago about the impact of power and entitlement in many aspects, including but not limited to sexual misconduct. Respect is at the core of the Academy’s values. We are now developing a code of conduct to ensure that is demonstrated in all our activities and programs.

The range of the Academy’s activities and consultations has increased significantly in the last few years. This is only possible because our Academy Fellows and supporters generously give their time. Thanks to all of you for participating – this is what gives the Academy life.

Professor Jane Hall FASSA FAHMS, President

The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is proud to launch its inaugural
Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.

The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has a vision for a society in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their continuing knowledge, including their languages, and their ongoing ownership and custody of lands and waters, is more fully recognised, understood and celebrated. Through this and subsequent RAPs the Academy will take action to achieve this future for all Australians.

Join us in person or online for the official breakfast launch of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia's 2021-2022 Reconciliation Action Plan and hear from our President and keynote speaker and Academy Fellow Professor Marcia Langton AO. We look forward to sharing with you the practical actions that will drive our contribution towards reconciliation within our organisation, networks and communities. You can find a preview copy of the Academy's RAP on our website.

This event will be held in-person at the National Museum of Australia and live-streamed on the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia's Facebook page.

The Academy Workshops Program offers Australian social scientists financial assistance to host multidisciplinary workshops which aim to advance research and policy agendas on nationally important issues. The Academy supports up to eight workshops each year with funding to a maximum of $9,000 (excl GST).

Its purpose is to be a catalyst for innovative ideas in social science research and social policy, to build capability amongst young researchers and to foster networks across social science disciplines and with practitioners from government, the private sector, and the community sector on issues of common concern.

Over the past 30 years the Academy is pleased to have been the catalyst for over 185 workshops involving thousands of leading experts across Australia. Find out more about past workshops here and read about our 2021 recipients here.

Applications are now open until 15 October 2021, click here for more information.

2021 Annual Symposium: The Social Future of Australia

The Academy’s 50th Anniversary Symposium in November will explore the social future of Australia. Expert voices will tackle big questions shaping our lives, such as: Can Australia overcome the upheaval of COVID-19? What is needed to create a more just country? What is needed to reduce violence toward women? Can we achieve meaningful reconciliation with First Nations peoples? What is needed for a future-focused productive and innovative society?
Can Australia be a world leader in addressing human impact on the environment?

The speakers will consider these and other questions, with a mind to coming up with evidence-informed policy solutions. Alongside the forthcoming report on the State of the Social Sciences, the Social Future of Australia will highlight the role of the social sciences in understanding and addressing major questions and in meeting social challenges in Australia and across the world.

Stay tuned for more details about our 50th Anniversary events in the next edition.

The value of breakthrough research has hardly ever been more evident than during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help make the Falling Walls Conference 2021 in Berlin the celebration that excellent research deserves, they are asking leading academics and academic institutions, universities, research organisations, companies, private and public research centres, academies, research funders, foundations, and individuals to nominate the latest breakthroughs, outstanding projects, and bright minds behind them in 10 categories including social sciences.

The ten Science Breakthroughs of the Year will be presented live on stage in Berlin and broadcast via live stream to a global audience. Nominate now and save the date for 7-9 November. Nominations close on 15 June 2021.

Last month Academy staff attended the Canberra Science Diplomats Club, hosted by the Embassy of Italy in Canberra. Created in 2012, the Canberra Science Diplomats Club is an informal gathering for relevant Embassy representatives and key Australian stakeholders to mingle, exchange ideas and discuss policy over nibbles and drinks.

The guest speaker was Dr Cathy Foley, Australia’s Chief Scientist who mentioned the importance of the sciences and social sciences working closely together.

READ:

Events of National Importance and Cultural Significance: Sustaining and Enhancing Sport Anti-Siphoning
Academy Fellow Emeritus Professor David Rowe was the main author of a submission to the Media Reform Green Paper: Modernising television regulation in Australia, arguing for legislative reforms to ensure free public access to major sports events of national importance and cultural significance.

New book co-edited by two Academy Fellows:
International & Comparative Employment Relations: Global Crises & Institutional Responses, 7th edition, Greg J Bamber, Fang Lee Cooke, Virginia Doellgast & Chris F Wright, editors.

The standard reference for a worldwide readership, this book offers a new and systematic overview. Experts examine the practice and context of employment relations in 13 countries: economic, historical, legal, social and political. The authors consider roles of various players; processes of employment relations including: collective bargaining, arbitration and employee involvement; as well as multinational enterprises; global supply chains; implications of digitalisation and new technologies; climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Use promo code BAMBER25 to receive a special discount if ordering in the next 10 days.

Job vacancies recover and more
Academy Fellow Jeff Borland’s snapshot outlines the labour market in April 2021.

The spectre of Afghanistan: Security in Central Asia
Co-authored by Distinguished Professor and Academy Fellow Amin Saikal. Connecting a number of divergent perspectives on the current state of Afghanistan, this book outlines the country’s past and present instability and how this impacts and is conceptualised by its neighbours as well as by international heavyweights such as Russia, China and the United States.

Intellectual biography of Academy Fellow Colin Clark
This book offers the first intellectual biography of the Anglo Australian economist, Colin Clark. Despite taking the economics world by storm with a mercurial ability for statistical analysis, Clark’s work has been largely overlooked in the 30 years since his death. Clark's imaginative wanderings qualify him as the eminent gypsy economist for the 20th century.

In one of our latest Seriously Social podcasts, host Ginger Gorman reviews her 2020 interview with Economics Editor for the Sydney Morning Herald and Academy Fellow Ross Gittins, who stated that Australia's recession was "completely different" to anything before. Ahead of the Federal Budget, let's see how his predictions and commentary stack up in 2021 with commentary from Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School and Academy Fellow and President-elect, Richard Holden.

And if too much social science podcast goodness is never enough, you might wish to try some of the international offerings at Social Science bites produced by SAGE.