On 25 April 2023, Marja Makarow, President of Academia Europaea and Jaume Bertranpetit, Director of the Barcelona Knowledge Hub, hosted an event on at the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona to present the hub’s new institutional framework and programming.

The President of Academia Europaea (AE), Marja Makarow, and Jaume Bertranpetit, Director of the Barcelona Knowledge Hub (AE-BKH), its regional hub for Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, hosted an event on Tuesday, 25 April 2023, at the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (RACAB), to present the hub’s new institutional framework and programming. The presented plan includes new strategic lines aimed at fostering citizen participation, boosting visibility and harnessing synergies between science and art, alongside already established lines focused on disseminating knowledge from cross-sectional perspectives and recognising outstanding scholarship.

In addition to the aforementioned presentation of the AE-BKH, as well as an overview of the role of AE regional hubs as a whole, the event also featured: a welcome address by Jordi Isern, President of RACAB; a talk by Andreu Mas-Colell, President of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology and member of the AE-BKH Steering Committee, who spoke on the interplay between science policies of the European Union and of its member states; and concluding remarks by Jordi Mas, Director of the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI).

Since 2013, Barcelona has been home to an AE regional hub, supported by the Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia and currently headquartered at the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI). Appointed Academic Director of the AE-BKH in October 2022, Jaume Bertranpetit, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Pompeu Fabra University and former Director of the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), unveiled a line-up of activities that reflect a revamped focus, comprising four main actions.

Main features of the new AE-BKH program of activities#

The first AE-BKH action is a new forum of interdisciplinary dialogue on the social implications of relevant scientific or technological advances, which will be conducted on two different levels: Frontiers of Science and Technology in Society (aimed at scientists and scholars), and Agora (aimed at the general public), fostering citizen participation. Frontiers will incorporate the renowned Disputatio of Barcelona, an academic debate held annually since 2013 and inspired by the famous, theologically oriented Disputatio of 1263; now a tradition, the modern-day Disputationes bring together two leading experts on science topics of social relevance, such as climate change or artificial intelligence.

The second program, also new, is Science and Art, which seeks to explore and develop synergies between art and science as complementary ways of understanding and interpreting the world. The AE-BKH aspires to not only facilitate dialogue between these two areas but also to develop and produce, in collaboration with key cultural and scientific institutions, joint projects to be exhibited both locally and internationally.

The third action, already underway, is the Barcelona Hypatia European Science Prize, awarded by the Barcelona City Council in collaboration with the AE-BKH. The prize, now in its fourth edition, helps project the city of Barcelona as a European capital of science by recognising an outstanding researcher who has conducted her/his career primarily in Europe and at the highest international level. The fourth and final program consists of activities designed for augmenting the hub’s visibility and supporting public outreach, including a new website, communications tools and networking events.

Among the sixty guests in attendance were members of Academia Europaea, including those comprising the AE-BKH Steering Committee (Alexander Fidora, Marcel Swart, Andreu Mas-Colell, Genoveva Martí and Ramon Gomis), as well as members of Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (RACAB) and of the Young Academy of Europe, close collaborators of AE. Representatives from the AE-BKH’s partners (Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia) and from its host institution, the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, were also present.



Upon conclusion, an informal reception with cava and refreshments provided networking opportunities. For those who were unable to attend the event, a video is available for viewing on the RACAB YouTube channel. Soon the new AE-BKH website, with information regarding upcoming activities, will be launched at: https://acadeuro.fundaciorecerca.cat.

Institutional visit by AE to the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI)#

Earlier that same day, Marja Makarow, together with David Coates, Executive Secretary of AE, visited the FCRI headquarters, where the two institutions signed a collaboration agreement. Jordi Mas, FCRI Director, and Joaquim Boixareu, FCRI Board member, provided an overview of the foundation’s many scientific dissemination initiatives, highlighting how the AE-BKH helps further its goals. Next, a work session with AE-BKH staff, including Hub Manager Kimberly Katte, followed by a luncheon with members of the AE-BKH Steering Committee, helped advance the hub’s plans for the coming year.

The AE-BKH thanks its partners, host institution, collaborators and of course AE for their showing of support. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact us at: AEbarcelona@fundaciorecerca.cat

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With the support of: