Reclaiming Europe#

In the course of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine it has become clear that expertise on the countries often misleadingly grouped under the label “Eastern Europe” has been neglected and marginalised in Germany and its western neighbour states. The diversity of these countries in the north, south and centre of the continent is enormous.

Several academic institutions have therefore formulated a manifesto entitled “Reclaiming Europe”, coordinated by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

The manifesto proposes guiding principles for a changed attitude – in a spirit of cooperation – with the scientific communities in the area called “Eastern Europe”, but which is to be reclaimed as a central terrain of the European landscape. The manifesto will serve as the basis for various activities dealing with the consequences of the war and aiming at a new phase of European rapprochement, also in academia. In particular, it serves as a starting point for the work of the “Young Network TransEurope”, a network of excellent mid-career scholars, which will begin its work in October 2024 (cf.: https://www.bbaw.de/en/young-network-transeurope).

The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and its partner organisations are grateful for every additional signature of the manifesto. Should you have questions or comments, please contact Roland Römhildt, Officer for International Relations at BBAW (roland.roemhildt@bbaw.de).

Professor Marja Makarow, the President of Academia Europaea has already signed the manifesto on behalf of AE.

Prof. Makarow calls upon the members of Academia Europaea to also sign the manifesto.#

In her letter to Dr. Römhildt, Prof. Makarow writes: