Membership of International and Regional Organisations

This allows participation by Academy representatives in forums where they may interact with social scientists from other countries, particularly those in Australia's neighbourhood, and monitor developments in the social sciences as they occur.

Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC)

The Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC) is the principal social scientific organization which brings together the most distinguished social scientists from the peak academic and professional bodies in the Asia-Pacific Region. It was established in Teheran in 1976 and currently connects eighteen countries with well established social scientific networks.

AASSREC has enjoyed close co-operation with UNESCO which has given substantial support to its activities and recognised its contribution to the furthering of UNESCO's objectives in the Asia-Pacific Region. While the main activity of AASSREC has been its biennial conference, it has also developed a number of projects at regional as well as local levels. These have resulted in publications, both scholarly and those designed to appeal to students and the general public. In this way AASSREC has served to stimulate interest in social scientific research and teaching in the region. Most recently, it has also contributed to developments in social scientific education in countries which were formerly politically and economically isolated, including those in Central Asia. These now look up to AASSREC and expect support for their efforts to develop their own social scientific education and research.

AASSREC Conferences are held every two years in different countries, hosted by different Social Science Councils - most recently in India in 2005. The 2007 AASSREC Biennial Conference will be held in Nagoya, Japan. The AASSREC Secretariat is working to develop new multilateral activities for the AASSREC member nations.

The AASSREC Secretariat which for some years was located in India, with periods in Korea and the Philippines, now resides with ASSA. The new President is Professor Michiatsu Kaino of Japan. The ASSA Executive Director, Dr John Beaton, is the Secretary General of AASSREC.