Floris Rutjes, President of EuChemS, and Nineta Hrastelj, Secretary General, met with Angela K. Wilson, Immediate Past President of the American Chemical Society, alongside other representatives of ACS, on 24 August 2023 in The Hague, during IUPAC events. During the meeting, participants discussed intercontinental strategic collaborations and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), that signified the continuation of the lasting collaboration between the two societies, first highlighted by the 2016 MoU.
The 2023 MoU outlines a framework that includes commitments to enhance collaboration, strengthening the chemistry ecosystem on a global scale and within this ecosystem, reinforcing the global chemical societies. In detail, this means mutual communication of the importance of association membership, and advancing multi-society endeavours, such as events and symposia. The framework also takes inclusion and diversity into account, alongside its commitment to address issues of employment, education, research integrity and ethics. These commitments also apply to the promotion of career development amongst early career chemists and related professionals. The memorandum’s foundation is defined as the societies shared interest in advancing chemistry and in solving global challenges guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The memorandum is set to be effective for 5 years, during which the parties committed to annual planning and review activities.
