Humboldtians from Central and Eastern Europe to meet for a virtual colloquium

Some 150 researchers as well as guests from the science administration field and the political sector will be gathering on 23 and 24 September for a virtual colloquium being held by the Humboldt Foundation. Participants will come from the Visegrad countries Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Together with guests from Germany they will discuss current challenges facing science and research in the region and challenges related to scientific exchange with Germany. Focal topics will include the challenges and opportunities facing young researchers in Central and Eastern Europe and the role that science can play in the transformation processes of these countries in the face of the political challenges there, which also involve issues of freedom of science.

For the first time ever, a Humboldt Colloquium will be held in a virtual space. The network meeting with the title “Building Bridges, Moving Ideas: The Role of the Humboldt Network in Fostering Research Cooperation in Europe” was originally slated to be held in Warsaw. The colloquium will celebrate not only the 30th anniversary of the Polish-German Treaty of Good Neighbourship and Friendly Cooperation but also the many ties and collaborative research undertakings which the Humboldtians – as bridge-builders in Europe – have built and cultivated in Central and Eastern Europe with the support of the Humboldt Foundation for more than six decades, including the Cold War years. With its 1,050 alumni and sponsored individuals, the network in Poland is the largest national Humboldt Network in Europe.

The conference will boost networking and give young researchers the opportunity to establish contacts within the Humboldt Network and with potential collaboration partners in Germany. In addition to specialist lectures and science policy-related discussions, the programme will also include a performance by the German cabaret artist Steffen Möller, one of the best-known Germans in Poland. His programmes lampoon the cultural idiosyncrasies of both countries. 

Journalists with an interest in topics revolving around Central and Eastern Europe are cordially invited to attend. Please register by e-mail to presse[at]avh.de.

(Press release 22/2021)

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time conducting research in Germany. The Foundation maintains an interdisciplinary network of well over 30,000 Humboldtians in more than 140 countries around the world – including 61 Nobel Prize winners.