VUB joins new European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance

VUB joins new European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance

16 institutions join forces to advance global dialogue and cooperation

Vriije Universiteit Brussel is among the 16 founding members of the new European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance. Members will support research, training and networking to advance science, technology and innovation diplomacy in Europe and beyond.

Science diplomacy is a versatile tool that mobilizes science and scientists to advance dialogue and cooperation between countries, regions and citizens,” says Luk Van Langenhove, VUB academic commissioner for international networks and research professor at VUB’s Brussels School of Governance. “With the in-depth knowledge, experience and dedication of the alliance members, we are certain that our activities and events will contribute to enhancing awareness and knowledge of science diplomacy.”

The founding members of European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance include European universities and research centres, foundations, diplomatic academies and multilateral organisations. Together they will facilitate interaction and dialogue, training, institutional capacity building and coordination of joint funding to enhance their global impact. The alliance’s first large conference will be hosted in Paris in June 2022.

In the past months, the European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance has prepared an opinon paper in response to the European Commission’s communication on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation, ‘Europe’s strategy for international cooperation in a changing world’. in which it is emphasised what is missing and how one could envisage a Science Diplomacy Strategy to complement the Global Approach. Such a strategy should answer the questions Why should the EU invest in science diplomacy? How should it invest? What should be the concrete actions to implement the vision and mission? The paper was prepared by Luk Van Langenhove as chair of a drafting group and is now signed by already 20 scholars from different institutions.

The initiative of the European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance was launched following the success of three research and innovation projects on science diplomacy funded under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, which ran between 2016 and 2022: EL-CSID (European Leadership in Cultural, Science and Innovation Diplomacy), S4D4C (Using Science for/in Diplomacy for Addressing Global Challenges) and InsSciDE (Inventing a Shared Science Diplomacy for Europe). The EL-CSID project was coordinated by VUB and analysed the relevance of cultural, science and innovation diplomacy for EU external relations. The alliance aims to continue the activities, networks, impact and legacy of the three projects.

Contact

Luk Van Langenhove [email protected]

 

EU Science Diplomac Alliance

[email protected]

Founding member organisations

Charles University, Czech Republic

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Sorbonne Université, France

German Aerospace Center (DLR-PT), Germany

European Academy of Diplomacy, Poland

Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany

Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), Spain

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany

Padua University, Italy

SciDipGlobal, Spain

University Lille, France

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

Zentrum für Soziale Innovation, Austria

 

Global networking partners

Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)

University of Tromsø (UiT), Norway

Unit of Non-Traditional Diplomacy (UNTRAD)

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Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an internationally oriented university in Brussels, the heart of Europe. By providing excellent research and education on a human scale, VUB wants to make an active and committed contribution to a better society.

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The Vrije Universiteit Brussel assumes its scientific and social responsibility with love and decisiveness. That’s why VUB launched the platform De Wereld Heeft Je Nodig – The World Needs You, which brings together ideas, actions and projects based on six Ps. The first P stands for People, because that’s what it’s all about: giving people equal opportunities, prosperity, welfare, respect. Peace is about fighting injustice, big and small, in the world. Prosperity combats poverty and inequality. Planet stands for actions on biodiversity, climate, air quality, animal rights... With Partnership, VUB is looking for joint actions to make the world a better place. The sixth and last P is for Poincaré, the French philosopher Henri Poincaré, from whom VUB derives its motto that thinking should submit to nothing except the facts themselves. VUB is an ‘urban engaged university’, strongly anchored in Brussels and Europe and working according to the principles of free research.

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