ALLEA Board meets in Berlin at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities

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The ALLEA Board met in Berlin at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities on 9 July 2014, to discuss recent, current, and future ALLEA activities as well as administrative and budgetary matters. Special attention was given to outcomes of the ALLEA General Assembly 2014, which took place on 24/25 April in Oslo, on the premises of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

An activity report from the Presidency encompassed ALLEA President Günter Stock’s visit to the British Academy Dinner in London honouring Anne Glover, the Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of the European Commission. Other topics included the release of the publication on the “Facing the Future” conference on European SSH research infrastructures  and various proposals regarding how to bring further attention to SSH research on Europe as well as the broader contributions science and research can make to EU development. Further matters of discussion involved updates from the respective ALLEA Working Groups, the programme planning for the next GA to be held at the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon in Spring 2015, as well as the next award ceremony for the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values.

Moreover, the Board decided to endorse the statement “Protecting health and scientific research in the Data Protection Regulation” (drafted by Wellcome Trust), which has already been endorsed by numerous Member Academies and by EASAC. A second statement published by eight Member Academies will also be supported by ALLEA: “Mastering Demographic Change in Europe”. Both statements and additional information will soon be made available on the ALLEA website and further disseminated among the respective channels.

Rounding out the meeting were reports on various avenues of international cooperation, including the last meeting of the Presidents of ALLEA, Academia Europaea, and EASAC in May 2014 in Riga, where a potential dialogue forum with the European Commission was discussed. In closing this second meeting of 2014, the Board looks forward to the next meeting, which will take place on 16/17 September in Sofia, on the invitation of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The ALLEA Board consists of nine members, elected by the General Assembly, including the President who chairs the Board. It regularly convenes 3 – 4 times per year. Current members are the delegates of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the National Academy of the Lincei (Italy), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Swiss Academies for Arts and Sciences and the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Every two years, the General Assembly decides on the composition of the ALLEA Board for the subsequent two years period. More information on the ALLEA Board can be found here.

Publication released: Results of the European Research Infrastructure Conference “Facing the Future” – available online (Open Access)

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ALLEA in cooperation with the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Data Forum (Rat SWD) has released a publication summerising the results of the conference “Facing the Future – European Research Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences” organised by the four institutions in November last year.

Working Group member Gerhard Lauer

Working Group member Gerhard Lauer

On that occasion, more than 70 social science and humanities experts, representatives from research policy and funding, and research infrastructure coordinators from 19 European countries met in Berlin to discuss emerging research issues and infrastructure needs, and to outline a roadmap for strengthening European research infrastructures in the social sciences and humanities in the years to come. The ALLEA Working Group E Humanities significantly contributed to the conference. Working Group Chair Sandra Collins co-chaired the session “Digital Humanities” and Working Group member Gerhard Lauer (picture) provided a lecture on present issues of the digital humanities (read more)

A publication condensing the lectures and outcomes of the conference has now been released in printed and digital format (open access): DUSA, Adrian; NELLE, Dietrich; STOCK, Günter; WAGNER, Gert. G.: Facing the Future: European Research Infrastructures for the Humanities and Social Sciences. 1. Aufl. Berlin: Scivero Verlag, 2014.

In 20 articles the authors discuss current challenges and future advancements of European research infrastructures for the humanities and social sciences, particularly in view of the funding scheme Horizon 2020 and the ESRFI Roadmap update. Starting with an overview of SSH infrastructures it elaborates on four specific areas that increasingly demand a pan-European approach. Drawing from the SSH infrastructure projects´ experience, it then (re-) defines the requirements and potential for next generation infrastructure projects.

The conference was held as part of the pan-European “Survey and Analysis of Basic Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities” (SASSH) at the science academies, learned societies, and related research institutes of Europe that is currently being conducted by ALLEA in close cooperation with the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Running from August 2013 until April 2015 the project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Many of the ALLEA member academies have already contributed to the project by submitting information about their respective SSH research projects. The initial phase of collecting data has now been closed. With a total of more than 600 answers the survey provides a substantial database of which first analyses can be drawn.

More information about the ALLEA Working Group E Humanities can be found here.

International collaboration in Science Education: AEMASE conference in Rome

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On 19 and 20 May 2014 experts from academia and political representatives assemble at the National Academy of the Lincei in Rome for the international conference “African-European-Mediterranean Academies for Science Education” (AEMASE). The conference is an initiative of five prestigious institutions in Africa and Europe (Bibliotheca Alexandrina – Egypt, Académie des Sciences – France, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei – Italy, Académie Hassan II des Sciences et Techniques – Morocco, Académie Nationale des Sciences et Techniques du Sénégal).

The chairs of the organising committee, Professor Odile Macchi (ALLEA working group on Science Education / Académie des Sciences) and Professor Giancarlo Vecchio (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei) formulate as main aims of the conferences “to foster the concrete dialogue between developed and developing countries for renewing Science Education” and “to strengthen in each country the partnership between Science Academies and Ministries of Education for the benefit of the renewal of Science Education”.

The programme includes a variety of keynotes and discussion panels as well as poster presentations and side meetings of expert committees of the academy networks ALLEA and IAP (Inter Academy Panel). Participants will be welcomed, among others, by the Ministers of Education of Italy and Sudan. Furthermore, the Presidents of three academic federations – ALLEA, NASAC (Network of African Science Academies) and EMAN (Euro-Mediterranean Academic Network) – will address the audience in the opening session.

Examples of successful international collaboration in the field of science education will be discussed just as a large number of national projects: The scope is not limited to Africa or Europe; presentations will include examples from Argentina, Australia, Finland, France, Haiti, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Senegal, Sudan, Sweden, United Kingdom, USA.

The conference is endorsed and financially supported by ALLEA and forms part of the IAP funded AEMASE project which aims to “(i) foster cooperation and bilateral twinnings on Inquiry Based Science Education and informal Science Education and pool resources for Teacher Professional Development; and (ii) raise awareness of Education Ministries for promoting Teacher Professional Development in science and strengthen their partnerships with their national science Academies.” (project description by IAP).

Please click here for comprehensive information about the conference.

Activities and statements of the ALLEA working group on Science Education can be accessed here.

ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Intellectual Property Right issues response to the European Commission’s questionnaire on the review of EU copyright law

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On the initiative of Chairman Professor Joseph Straus, the ALLEA Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights presented a statement as a response to the European Commission´s questionnaire on the review of EU copyright law.

The statement particularly elaborates on copyright issues most relevant to the academic community in Europe and has been sent to the European Commission as an input to the on-going and future deliberations on the EU copyright rules. It was specifically addressed to European Commissioner Michel Barnier and Director General Jonathan Faull, responsible for Internal Market and Services. The full statement can be downloaded here.

More information about the ALLEA Permanent Working Group IPR can be found here.

ALLEA endorses “Statement Supporting Funding for Stem Cell and Reproductive Health Research in Europe 2014”

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ALLEA supports a joint statement drafted by the Wellcome Trust regarding the funding for Stem Cell and Reproductive Health Research in Europe. The statement calls on the European Parliament and European Commission to oppose an initiative seeking a ban on all financing of activities related to stem cell research, including research on regenerative medicine, reproductive health and genetic disease.

2013_11_7_stemcellThe views expressed in the statement coincide with the recommendation of a recent ALLEA position on “Patentability and Research Funding relating to embryonic Stem Cells”, prepared by the Permanent Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights in October 2013 and approved by all but two ALLEA member academies. The Wellcome Trust led joint statement has until today been endorsed by 76 partner organisations all across Europe, including  patient groups, research funders, academies and learned societies, universities and industry groups.

The statement seeks to maintain the provisions of the current framework for funding stem cell research in Horizon 2020: “Horizon 2020 allows ground breaking and important research using all forms of stem cells, subject to it meeting fundamental ethical principles. Any roll back of this agreement would be a major step backwards for research across regenerative medicine, reproductive health, genetic disease and delay the development of much needed treatments for a host of untreatable conditions.”

Click here to download the full statement.

Over the last years, the ALLEA working group on Intellectual Property Rights has issued three statements on stem cell research, particularly regarding the patentability and funding regulations, which explicitly underlined that a lack of patent protection in the area of embryonic stem cell research could negatively affect the investment in developing therapeutics based on human pluripotent embryonic stem cells. ALLEA has repeatedly raised serious concerns towards a possible cut down of funding in this field of research.

For download of the previous statements, background documents and further information on the topic please click here.

ALLEA General Assembly elects new member academies and re-elects ALLEA Board for the next term in office

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On the occasion of the 15th ALLEA General Assembly, held on the premises of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo, on 25 April 2014 the delegates of the ALLEA member academies decided to admit four further full members and one associate member to the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Furthermore, in the course of ALLEA´s annual meeting, all re-eligible members of the ALLEA Board were re-elected and one new member was elected for the period 2014-16. The meeting was preceded by a scientific symposium and a festive event celebrating ALLEA´s 20th anniversary.

Participants of the annual ALLEA business meeting 2014 in Oslo

Participants of the annual ALLEA business meeting 2014 in Oslo

Since 25 April 2014 the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities counts 58 full members. On the recommendation of the ALLEA Board, the General Assembly voted for the admission of four academies that had applied for membership in ALLEA:  The Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (Spain), The Institute for Catalan Studies (Spain), The Academy of Sciences of Turin (Italy) and The Venetian Institute for Sciences, Letters and the Arts (Italy). The Assembly furthermore decided to admit The Science Academy, Istanbul (Turkey), as associate member in ALLEA.

The agenda of the 15th ALLEA General Assembly also included the election of the ALLEA Board for the following two years. The Board comprises nine members including the President and two Vice Presidents whose term in office is independent from the one of the Board. All five re-eligible existing Board members were re-elected and the ALLEA delegates elected The Royal Society of Edinburgh, represented by its Vice President Professor Graham Caie, to fill the vacancy and become member of the Board. The  15th ALLEA General Assembly closed with an invitation from the President of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon to hold the next annual meeting in the Portuguese capital on 23 and 24 April 2015.

Keynote speaker Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council (ERC)

Keynote speaker Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council (ERC)

The annual business meeting of ALLEA was preceded by a scientific symposium dedicated to the topic “Enabling Early Career Researchers: Needs for Training of a New Generation” on the day prior to the meeting. The symposium included a keynote speech by the President of the European Research Council (ERC), Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, on European efforts in supporting the career paths of early stage scientists and scholars.

Further presentations and panel discussions provided manifold perspectives on the issue, particularly detailing the Norwegian practise and strategy and displaying the views of early career researchers themselves. Professor Lauritz Broder Holm-Nielsen, Vice President of the European Universities Association (EUA), laid a special focus on the efforts of Universities in training early career researchers in Europe.

The symposium was followed by a festive event celebrating ALLEA´s 20th anniversary opened by a speech on “The role of academies in a European research and education area” by the President of ALLEA, Professor Günter Stock. Further highlights included a video address by the laureate of the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values 2014, Professor Luisa Passerini, elaborating on “Affective Narratives for Europe”, as well as a festive lecture by Professor Étienne François, Emeritus Professor of History in Paris and Berlin, discussing the question “Between National and Global: Europe as a Research Space”.

Welcome Address by Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Welcome Address by Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

The audience was welcomed by Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, President of the hosting Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and Dr Björn Haugstad, State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry for Education and Research. Among the guests of the festive event were four past presidents of ALLEA as well as the Presidents of partner organisations in Europe: Professor Jos van der Meer, President of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and Professor Lars Walloe, President of  Academia Europaea.

Presentations and pictures of the symposium and festive event are made available here.
Please click for further information about The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Download Press Release here

President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso awards All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values to Italian Professor of Cultural History

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from left: Professor Günter Stock, ALLEA President, Laureate Professor Luisa Passerini, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

from left: Professor Günter Stock, ALLEA President, Laureate Professor Luisa Passerini, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

At the award ceremony in the premises of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels on 9 April 2014 José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, honoured the laureate´s exceptional scholarly work on European cultural values and European identity. The prize is initiated by ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, and co-sponsored by Stiftung Mercator. It is endowed with 25,000 Euro.

“A sense of belonging to Europe, to a community of values and culture, is essential to forge that common destiny. Europe is us, each of us. And each of us can make a difference in Europe and contribute to driving positive change. This is what ALLEA is doing through its wide range of activities. This is also what Professor Luisa Passerini is working on, looking at what holds us together. I congratulate Professor Luisa Passerini for her exceptional work which forms part of the important scholarly contributions towards an understanding of Europe as an intellectual and cultural entity”, stated José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission. Click here for the complete speech.

In his opening remarks, Professor Günter Stock, ALLEA President and chairman of the prize jury, pointed out: “It is a pleasure that today we can honour a personality who is so strongly engaged in investigating Europe´s cultures and values. At the same time she follows a critical and professional – truly scientific – approach when it comes to Eurocentrism.”

With reference to President Barroso´s initiative ‘A New Narrative for Europe’ he stated that “we as academies felt invited to contribute and to help creating new narratives. One of these symbolic – as I would call them – narratives, is the creation of the ‘Madame de Staël prize’ for European scholars working in the field of European values.”

Luisa Passerini is part-time Professor at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy, visiting Professor at Columbia University, New York, and former Professor of Cultural History at the University of Turin, Italy. She heads the ERC funded research project “Bodies Across Borders: Oral and Visual Memory in Europe and Beyond” (BABE) which aims to understand new forms of European identity. Luisa Passerini´s further research fields include History of subjectivity, including forms of European identity, Gender and generations or Diasporic subjectivities.

In his laudatory speech, Etienne François, Professor Emeritus of History in Paris and Berlin, characterised Luisa Passerini as “a historian who has proved in her scholarly works that Europe can be better understood from its margins and from the outside than from what is considered its centre.”

ALLEA has established the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, awarded for the first time in 2014, in order to display the boundless intellectual and cultural diversity and richness of Europe and to highlight outstanding contributions of scholarly work, particularly in the fields of the humanities and social sciences.

Click here to learn more about the prize, the laureate and for further information.

See more pictures and a video of all speeches on the pages of the European Commission.

Download Press Release

15th ALLEA General Assembly in Oslo, Norway, on 24/25 April 2014

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news bannerThe 15th General Assembly of the European federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, ALLEA (ALL European Academies), will take place on the premises of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo on 24 and 25 April 2014.

The annual meeting of ALLEA is traditionally preceded by a scientific symposium which this year is dedicated to the issue “Enabling early career researchers – needs for training of a new generation”. A keynote will be given by the President of the European Research Council Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon followed by contributions both from outstanding early career researchers and renowned senior scholars and science policy makers who will shed light on different perspectives of a rapidly changing research environment with particular attention to the consequences that these changes represent for the training and preparation of a new generation of scientists and scholars.

With a festive event in the evening of 24 April 2014, ALLEA will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Guests of honour will be the State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, Dr Bjørn Haugstad, as well as Professor Étienne François, Emeritus of the Free University of Berlin and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Member of Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Professor Francois will hold the festive lecture on the basis of his laudatory speech for the laureate of the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values Professor Luisa Passerini The prize winner, who is currently lecturing in New York, will address the audience via video conference.

The programme of and further information about the symposium and the festive session be found here.

On the second day of the General Assembly, 25 April 2014, in the internal ALLEA business meeting, the delegations of all member academies are invited to discuss major topics of the ALLEA´s future policy, work and mission. The General Assembly will elect the ALLEA Board for the period 2014 – 2016 and decide about the admission of new member academies.

The General Assembly is ALLEA’s highest legislative body, where all Member Academies decide on the federation’s policy, governance bodies and budget. The GA programme typically consists of two parts, a scientific conference and a business meeting. The conference sessions are devoted to presentations of papers and activities usually linked to or expanding on ALLEA core activities.

Last year´s conference in Berlin addressed the topic “Management of Large Data Corpora”, the symposium in Rome in 2012 was dedicated to a special session with the Vice President of the European Commission, Ms Neelie Kroes, about “The Digital Agenda and Access to Scientific Information”.

Click here for information and documentation of previous ALLEA General Assemblies.

President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso awards first All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values to Italian Professor of Cultural History Luisa Passerini

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Luisa Passerini

In honour of her exceptional scholarly work on European cultural values and European identity, Luisa Passerini will be the first scholar to be awarded the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values by the President of the European Commission; a prize initiated by ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities.

Upon invitation of ALLEA, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, will award the prize at an award ceremony on the premises of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels on the afternoon of 9 April 2014.

Luisa Passerini´s research not only provides a multifaceted depiction of the ways in which identities in Europe are built and evolve. “It also comprises and elaborates on the values that Europe is in need of today”, says Professor Günter Stock, ALLEA President and chairman of the prize jury. “Her comprehensive work on a great variety of topics related to the European identity and values significantly contributes to explaining cultural diversity in Europe and its eventful history of cultural encounters.”

The laureate is Professor Emeritus of Cultural History at the University of Turin and currently heads the research project Bodies Across Borders: Oral and Visual Memory in Europe and Beyond, funded by the European Research Council, which aims to understand new forms of European identity. Luisa Passerini´s further research fields include the history of subjectivity, including forms of European identity, gender and generations or diasporic subjectivities.

The All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, awarded for the first time in 2014  is co-sponsored by Stiftung Mercator and endowed with 25,000 EUR. ALLEA has established the prize to pay tribute to the boundless intellectual and cultural diversity and richness of Europe, and to highlight how outstanding scholarly work, particularly in the fields of the humanities and social sciences, contributes to the understanding of Europe as a cultural and intellectual entity.

The event is open to the public and press. Please click here to download the press invitation. Prior registration is required. For interviews with the laureate or with the ALLEA President, please contact the ALLEA secretariat in advance. Photos will be made available upon request shortly after the event. Click here to learn more about ALLEA, the prize, the laureate and for further information.

ALLEA Presidency endorses appeal of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

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news bannerThe ALLEA member from Ukraine, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), on 4 March 2014 issued an “Appeal of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine to Scientists, All Citizens of Ukraine and the Russian Federation”.

The Presidency of ALLEA today has distributed the appeal to all member academies stating full endorsement of the document and encouraging the sister academies in other European countries to “undertake whatever seems feasible in support of academic freedom and autonomy in Ukraine”.

The document reflects the Academy´s position regarding the current situation and developments in Ukraine and carries signatures of the NASU Presidency, comprising a number of members who are both fellows of NASU and of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

The appeal can be accessed here.

Click here for further information on the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.