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ACOLA’s members, Australia’s Learned Academies, are deeply shocked and condemn the military operation by the Russian Government towards Ukraine. International disputes should be resolved through the rules-based order, according to the principles of international law and with the utmost respect for human rights and lives, and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations.
We, the Presidents of Australia’s Learned Academies, are committed to a research and innovation system underpinned by the expertise and talent of researchers across the sciences, humanities, technology and engineering, social sciences, and health and medicine.
Professor Lesley Head, FASSA FAHA
President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
The Australian Academy of the Humanities shares sector concerns about changes to the Australian Research Council (ARC) programs and governance outlined in a Letter of Expectation from Acting Minister for Education & Youth, the Hon. Stuart Robert MP, to ARC CEO Professor Sue Thomas.
The Australian Academy of Humanities has elected 40 new members to its Fellowship – the highest honour for achievement in and contribution to the humanities in Australia.
Working in conjunction with Australia’s other Learned Academies, The Australian Academy of the Humanities (AAH) is committed to harnessing the collective expertise and resources of our Fellows and humanities networks to provide insights, solutions and knowledge to tackle climate change and to provide advice to guide the most efficient, fair and cost-effective policy mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We’re also committed to substantially reducing the emissions of our own Academy activities.
Indigenous Studies is multidisciplinary in the truest sense of the term and does not seek to separate “Culture, Nature and Climate,” but sees them as integral, interwoven features of existence. Professor Bronwyn Carlson FAHA, in her 2021 Academy Lecture, reflects on tens of thousands of years of experience, observation and application, and the value that Indigenous knowledge holds for the survival of the global ecosystems on which biodiversity depends. Bronwyn argues that our current environmental crisis demands a more radical response.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia are pleased to announce that the Australian SHAPE Futures Network will officially launch in early 2022.
We have a deep commitment to achieving national data and research infrastructure that serves the humanities, arts, the wider system, and the public good. The critical and creative talents of the humanities are vital to developing and realising a research commons agenda.
The release of the UN’s latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has confirmed everyone’s worst fears. Not only is climate change real, but it is also the direct result of human activity. It is predicting the earth will have warmed by 1.5 degrees since 1910 in the next decade, and looking ahead, Australia, which is already bearing the brunt of extreme weather events, will be amongst the hardest-hit nations in the world.
The world is rapidly changing, and the Australian Academy of the Humanities is meeting the new challenges we face, in new ways. The Academy’s original visual identity served us well for more than five decades, but as the world has changed, so must we.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities (AAH) is proud to be a co-signatory of a first-ever global Joint Statement by G20 Humanities and Social Science Academies addressing present and potential crises facing the world.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities recognises Australia’s First Nations Peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of this land, and their continuous connection to country, community and culture.