Dear Members,

I am excited to take on the role of Asia-Pacific Region President and for the opportunity to help move AAPG forward through these challenging times. The world has been shaken by the huge impacts of COVID-19, and our industry and our members have been particularly hard hit by the associated economic downturn. It is in times like these that I feel the AAPG can do its utmost for its members and our scientific community. Sadly, it will likely be a while before AAPG Asia-Pacific can hold face-to-face workshops again, as it has done so successfully in the past. However, the pandemic that is keeping so many of us working at home, and away from our colleagues and friends, is also allowing us to bring geoscientists closer together through virtual events.

During this global crisis we have kicked off the Asia-Pacific Presents series of online talk , enabling geoscientists from around the world to engage with leading experts. We have had five highly successful talks in the series so far and have many more already lined up for the coming months. These talks will not only be technical in nature, but will also cover topics such as AAPG matters, advice and mentoring during the downturn, and assistance in building career networks. Furthermore, we are exploring expanding our online events to be able to provide online training courses and workshops or forums.

Another key focus of the AAPG Asia-Pacific Council for this term is celebrating diversity by showcasing the outstanding geoscience being done throughout the region. The Asia-Pacific Region is vast, covering over 20% of the Earth’s surface and representing 50 countries, and we want to ensure that our region is welcoming and inclusive for all who wish to be involved in our association. We are doing this in a number of ways, such as through the broad range of speakers and topics in our Asia-Pacific Presents series and by expanding the AAPG Regional Council to give more selected people an active role and voice in AAPG activities. The new AAPG Asia-Pacific Council will comprise over a dozen people from across the region, as well as actively engage the House of Delegates, and we hope that this will allow us to provide greater representation, services and value to our members.

The Asia-Pacific Council will continue to actively support and encourage the many wonderful student members in the region. I am personally always inspired by how active and enthusiastic our student members are, and proud to say that we have some of the most outstanding student chapters in the world. Indeed, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the team from Institute Technology Bandung for winning the Excellence in Teamwork award in the 2020 Imperial Barrel Award. In addition, several student chapters received accolades in the 2020 Student Chapter YouTube Video Contest, namely Gadjah Mada University and the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, who took out second and third place respectively, while special recognition was given to the student chapters from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Trisakti University, Universitas Diponegoro (Diponegoro University), Universitas Padjadjaran, University of Brawijaya and University of Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta.

To finish, I want to thank the outgoing President, Mick McWalter, for his outstanding leadership over the last three years, and express my pleasure that he will be continuing to serve the region on the Region Council, as well as through roles in the House of Delegates and Advisory Council. The new Asia-Pacific Regional Council is looking forward to serving our members and we encourage all members to please reach out and let us know how best we can support geoscience in the region.

Mark Tingay
President
Asia Pacific Region
AAPG