The"Association for Trans-Eurasia Exchange and Silk Road Civilization Development"(ATES),co-chaired by Prof. Fahu Chen from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences (ITPCAS),Prof. Michael Meadows from Cape Town University/Nanjing University,and Prof. Juerg Luterbacher from Justus Liebig University Giessen,Germany,has been officially endorsed by UNESCO as a Programme of International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD).
ATES was launched in 2019 as one of the international networks of The Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO). ATES aims to deepen the understanding of the interactions between environmental changes, long-term trans-Eurasia exchanges and the development of Silk Road civilizations, by promoting interdisciplinary research in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities across Eurasia. To date, ATES has established six working groups, involving over 200 experts from 50 institutions in more than 20 countries worldwide. The engagement with UNESCO IDSSD will further enhance ATES's global partnership networks and advance interdisciplinary Silk Road research across Eurasia and beyond.
Currently,ATES has developed a series of flagship activities such as the ATES Silk Road Civilization Forum,ATES Open Science Conference,ATES Workshops,and ATES sessions/exhibitions at international conferences. The"ANSO-MTA Silk Road Forum & 3rd ATES Open Science Conference"will be held in Budapest,Hungary,on September 9-10,2025. This event will be one of the key IDSSD activities this year. Registration and abstract submissions are now open at:
https://conferences.koushare.com/ates2025
In August 2023,the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (2024–2033) (IDSSD), executed by UNESCO, to enhance global awareness of science’s role in sustainable development and mobilize stakeholders to advance related research and projects. ATES is supported by both the "CAS Pilot Program for Open Innovation on the Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment", and the "Excellent Research Group Program for Tibetan Plateau Earth System (formerly the Basic Science Center Program)" of the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
