President of Israel and Governor General of Canada Preside over the Signing of a Formal Accord between the Royal Society of Canada and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

OTTAWA, May 8, 2012 /CNW/ - On May 8, 2012, the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, and His Excellency the Governor General, David Lloyd Johnston, presided over a signing ceremony at Rideau Hall to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (IASH).

At the signing ceremony, President Yolande Grisé of the Royal Society of Canada and President Ruth Arnon of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities celebrated the immediate action being taken in the spirit of the understanding.

"This agreement with the Israel Academy, as well as the upcoming meeting of scientists in the field of brain research, signal that our two institutions believe in the principles of cooperation, but also in the necessity to see programmes arise from those principles immediately" said President Yolande Grisé of the RSC. "In its 130th year, the RSC is honored to undertake this innovative project with our esteemed colleagues in Israel, whose distinguished academicians are active partners in living the ideals of knowledge, promotion of research, and cooperative projects espoused by national academies around the world."

President Ruth Arnon of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities noted: "The achievements of Israeli researchers and their contributions to innovation are well-recognized in Nobel Prizes and Gairdner Awards.  However, as an Academy in a small country, we see the great value of relationships with scientists in other scientifically advanced countries such as Canada.  This agreement with the RSC will allow scientists of both countries to collaborate and enhance scientific development on the global stage, to the mutual benefit of both Israel and Canada."

The full text of the memorandum of understanding can be found on the website of the Royal Society of Canada - www.rsc-src.ca - and on the website of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities - www.academy.ac.il.

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Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) comprises the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada.  Its mission is to recognize scholarly, research and artistic excellence, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada and with other national academies around the world.

Founded in November 1959, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities acts as a national focal point for Israeli scholarship in both the natural sciences and the humanities. Its mission is to cultivate and promote scholarly and scientific excellence, to advise government, to maintain contact with similar bodies abroad, and to publish writings calculated to promote scholarship and science.

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Erika Kujawski, Senior Officer of Communications, The Royal Society of Canada, [phone] Ext. 105, Mobile: [phone], [email protected]; Internet: www.rsc-src.ca; Twitter: twitter.com/RSCTheAcademies