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FACS Newsletter 1/2003 From the Coordinator of Projects
Projects are one of the major activities of FACS, the others being the Asian Chemical Congress
(10th Congress will be held in October 2003, see page 81) and Publication of FACS Newsletter. We have seven projects and three sub-projects in the 2001-2003 term. Each project has a director and a co-director while each sub-project has a director
(see "Directory of Project
Directors" ).
The major aim of FACS projects is to create and enhance network of chemists in the specific field in the Asia Pacific region, with information exchange, holding or cooperating international or regional workshops, meetings and conferences, including the Asian Chemical Congress. |
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Through these activities, the projects contribute to the development of the specific field of chemistry in FACS societies. The profiles of some projects have been introduced in the preceding issues of this Newsletter, and some others will be introduced in the future.
Some of the projects have long history of activities, with international structures such as committees and networks or with international cooperating groups or organizations, while some others are rather new. The projects Asian Network of Green Chemistry
(ANGC) and Medicinal Chemistry
(MC), in particular has just launched in the present term and started to build up their respective international network of chemists. The sub-project Low Cost Instrumentation and Microscale Chemistry
(LCI/MC) has been separated from Low Cost Publishing
(LCP)subproject to expand its activity to cover the new area in, in particular, analytical chemistry and chemical education in relation to green and sustainable chemistry. I hope that numerous scientists engaged in these fields are interested in these new FACS projects and collaborate with the projects to enhance the international network of scientists.
The projects directors and co-directors came from ten societies£ºAustralia(5), Japan(3), Malaysia(2), Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Korea, and Sri Lanka. This constitutes less than half of twenty-six member societies. Although it is impossible and even impractical to expect equal contribution to every member society, contribution from increasing number of societies to projects in total is preferable for the promotion of the FACS body. Building up of substructure on international basis in the respective project, such as network, committee, group and organization, is encouraged to the director and co-director. This is one of the most practical ways of affording opportunities of members of participation to and collaboration with the project to wider region. The significance of membership, I believe, is to participate, collaborate, and contribute to the promotion of chemistry, rather than to have benefit from it. In addition, chemists in non-member societies may also participate in such substructures. By this, projects can contribute not only to enhance the popularity of FACS but to the development of chemistry in Asia, and even in the world, irrespective of the FACS membership.
Some projects with long history seem to be "matured"£»they have abilities of sustainable activities with steady and permanent substructures. It is considered that time is coming for these groups to move into the next stage of collaboration with FACS, which would be permanent and more autonomic, such as divisions or cooperating groups. The activities of these divisions or cooperating groups will always be regarded as FACS activities, whether they have financial support from FACS or not. The movement to the next stage will also open the limited room for projects to the novel activities, meeting the changing needs of chemists and its societies for newly developing fields. FACS body and member societies will need to seek for such new structures in the near future.
Dr. Masato M. Ito, Coordinator of Projects
The Federation of Asian Chemical Societies
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