Dear Members of Academia Europaea in the Nordic and Baltic Regions,
As we approach the end of the year, I would like to share some reflections on our concerns and activities at the Bergen Hub.
This year has once again been profoundly affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has reshaped the landscape for research and academic life across Europe. The aggression and its broader geopolitical implications have diminished security and limited opportunities for peaceful scientific collaboration and the open exchange of ideas and results. Our Hub’s activities have focused significantly on understanding these challenges.
We now find ourselves in a situation where research funding competes increasingly with military expenditures, raising concerns about the norms of openness in science. The potential for research outcomes to be misused for hostile purposes against our European democracies (the Dual Use dilemma) is a pressing issue.
The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, marked by horrific atrocities against civilians, further complicate this landscape. Additionally, the return of the Trump administration in the USA creates uncertainties for rational, science-based governance in the world’s largest economy, which could have global repercussions for academia.
The current climate for research is undeniably precarious. Europe is lagging in research-based innovation compared to the USA and China, and the long-term outlook appears challenging. However, there are positive developments also. In my role as Vice-President of the ERC, overseeing Physical Sciences and Engineering, I have seen influential reports emerge as we approach the 10th EU Framework Programme for research. The Draghi report on the future of European competitiveness, the Letta report on the European internal market, and the Heitor report on the design of the 10th Framework Program all commend the ERC’s achievements in advancing world-class frontier science. These reports advocate for the extension of the ERC and the restructuring of the European research and innovation landscape, following the ERC’s model of excellence and independent governance. If these recommendations are implemented, they could foster the emergence of more leading research groups in Europe, strengthening our research and innovation base against global competition. This development aligns closely with the strategic goals of Academia Europaea.
In 2024, as in the previous year, our Hub’s activities have focused especially on the Arctic. We successfully hosted a well-attended side event at Arctic Frontiers 2024 conference, titled A New Arctic Energy Mix, featuring leading experts on energy and the green transition. And through our ongoing Rethinking Arctic Collaboration – project we have organised events at key European Arctic conferences, including the Arctic Circle in Berlin in May and at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik in October, the latter featuring both a closed roundtable with key stakeholders and an open event; Rethinking Arctic – Scenarios on future Scientific cooperation and diplomacy . We have just finished a workshop at the Dartmouth College’s Institute of Arctic Studies, kicked-off with a public event; Climate Diplomacy on Thin Ice: Navigating Arctic Cooperation & Polar Governance. The outcomes of the workshop will be both a scientific paper and policy briefs on future perspectives of Arctic science cooperation and science diplomacy, pointing towards the upcoming International Polar Year in 2032.
We encourage our members to bring forward suggestions and initiatives for Hub activities, which this year led to our partnership with Professor Jens Braarvig (MAE) in co-organising the Second Biennial Conference of the World Philology Union at Uppsala University from December 4th to 6th, 2024. The central theme will be on historical languages. We look forward to welcoming further membership initiatives in the coming year.
The membership in our regions needs renewal, and I will use this opportunity to encourage all to be active in the ongoing nomination cycle.
I wish all our members a peaceful and relaxing holiday period, in the hope that next year we will see the world coming somewhat back to its senses.
Eystein