Nā Te Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive update
Kia ora koutou.
It has been a busy and exciting start to the new financial year, and the Society is looking forward to a number of very significant events between now and December.
Our international engagement and partnerships continue to strengthen and we will be hosting two very important international events in Aotearoa New Zealand in November and December.
The first of these is our Tri-Academy Partnership event on 24 to 26 November 2025. The inaugural event in this series of three summits was held in Vancouver in November 2024. As a partnership between the Royal Society Te Apārangi, The Royal Society of Canada, and the Australian Academy of Science, it is our turn to host the 2025 summit. The event will bring together indigenous Fellows, thought leaders and knowledge holders from Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada and Australia to progress discussions on a collaborative international Indigenous-led research agenda. We are looking forward to welcoming delegates from all three partner countries to this important second event in the series. A full programme for the summit is currently being finalised and will be available in due course.
We are also in the planning phase to host the next meeting of the International Science Council’s Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science (CFRS) in December (2nd to 4th). This meeting of the committee will be an important opportunity for all members who come from a wide range of countries to gather in Aotearoa New Zealand for their meeting, and to use the opportunity while here for a range of other meetings related to their work to protect and uphold the Principles of Freedom and Responsibility in Science.
At home, we have our Annual Research Honours events in October and November. This year the award ceremonies will be held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. They form an extremely important part of the Society’s annual calendar, acknowledging and celebrating the extraordinary achievements of our research community. There will be 24 honours awarded over the three events.
This gives just a taste of the busy and exciting 5 months ahead in the lead-up to Christmas and the summer holidays! We look forward to engaging with you as we continue to celebrate and raise the profile of the outstanding and important work being done across the entire research system in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Paul Atkins MRSNZ
Chief Executive
Royal Society Te Apārangi