 The IDB has been helping to finance Academy conferences since 1990.It has often delegated its own specialists to present papers describing its activities within the scope of the theme of the annual IAS Conference.The IAS, during March 2009, participated in the launch of the UNESCO International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC) in Kuala Lumpur and has implemented a number of programmes with this newly founded centre since.