Following the success of the three research and innovation projects on science diplomacy funded under the Horizon 2020 programme, 16 participating institutions have launched the European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance. The Alliance is a collaborative initiative to sustain and grow the activities, networks, impact and legacy of the three projects: 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 participation of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in this alliance is a shared one between the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG) and UNU-CRIS, who have, together, set up a joint Unit on Non-Traditional Diplomacy (UNTRAD) led by Prof. Luk Van Langenhove. The initial focus of this Unit will be on science diplomacy. The members of the Alliance will support research, training and networking to advance science, technology and innovation diplomacy in Europe and beyond to address global challenges.
The Alliance was first announced at the closing of the S4D4C Final Networking Meeting in March 2021 and has now formally started its activities. The founding members include European universities and research centers, foundations, diplomatic academies and multilateral organisations (see below for a member list). The Alliance is open to members who are legal entities based in Europe and who self-commit to mobilize resources and support each other in the achievement of shared objectives. Non-EU based legal entities can affiliate as “Global Networking Partners”. A board of “Advisory Partners” will be created by invitation only to include representatives of international institutions. Learn more about how to join the Alliance.
More information may be found on the European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance website https://www.science-diplomacy.eu
Founding member organisations of the European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance
Charles University, Czech Republic https://cuni.cz/
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Sorbonne Université, France https://sirice.eu/
German Aerospace Center (DLR-PT), Germany https://www.dlr.de/
European Academy of Diplomacy, Poland https://diplomats.pl/
Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany https://www.fau.eu/
Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), Spain https://www.fecyt.es
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany https://www.hu-berlin.de/
Padua University, Italy https://www.unipd.it/
SciDipGlobal, Spain https://www.scidip.global
University Lille, France https://www.univ-lille.fr/
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium https://www.vub.be
Zentrum für Soziale Innovation, Austria https://www.zsi.at/
Global Networking Partners
Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) https://www.auf.org/
The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) https://twas.org/
University of Tromsø (UiT), Norway https://en.uit.no/
Unit of Non-Traditional Diplomacy (UNTRAD) https://cris.unu.edu/
