MEDIA RELEASE
FUNDING BOOST FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
(Embargoed until 6:00am AEDT Friday 28 March 2003)
28 March, 2003 MIN 317/03
I am pleased to announce additional Commonwealth funding of
$790,000 for two national institutions, the Academy of the Social
Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
The funding, to be allocated over the next three years, will
enhance the ability of both institutions to contribute to
Australia’s cultural and economic health.
The Academies will use the money to build programmes and
exchanges which raise the profile of Australia’s social sciences and
humanities disciplines both nationally and internationally. The
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) will also use the
funds to pilot a special workshop and mentoring program for
Indigenous postgraduate students.
I commend ASSA and the Australian Academy of the Humanities for
their leadership in engaging with the recently released national
research priorities. Announced in December last year after an
extensive public consultation and submission process, the national
research priorities are a key part of the $3 billion Backing
Australia’s Ability initiative. The four major national research
priority themes are:
- An Environmentally Sustainable Australia;
- Promoting and Maintaining Good Health;
- Frontier Technologies for building and transforming
Australian industries; and
- Safeguarding Australia.
Covering such important disciplines as law, politics, economics,
history, linguistics, sociology and the creative arts, the social
sciences and humanities have much to offer in the further refinement
of the priority themes.
Advances in science and technology raise as many questions as
they answer. Science on its own cannot solve for us the really
important questions in life - about who we are and for what we hope.
The humanities and social sciences are critically important in
helping answer those questions.
The two Academies are today presenting a series of discussion
papers about the contribution of the social sciences and humanities
to the national research priorities at a special conference at the
National Museum of Australia in Canberra. The recommendations of the
conference will be presented to a national forum of the wider
science research community to be held in April.
I look forward to working with the Academies and their membership
during the implementation phase of the national research priorities.
For further information:
Dr Nelson’s Office: Ross Hampton 0419 484 095
Dept of Education, Science & Training: Alison Richens
0412 652 590
|
