Photos: Erik Thor/Young Academy of Sweden, Salla-Maaria Laaksonen
The Young Academy of Sweden hosted the meeting of European National Young Academies (ENYA) in Stockholm on May 3-4, 2023. The meeting gathered a total of 45 participants from 22 young academies to discuss topics related to academic freedom. The Young Academy Finland was represented at the meeting by Olli-Ville Laukkanen, Jyrki Savolainen, and Salla-Maaria Laaksonen.
The first day of the meeting took place at the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in the heart of Stockholm. The day included discussion on best practices at various young academies, as well as workshops on academic leadership and academic freedom. Most notably, the meeting participants provided comments on a draft version of the Stockholm Charter for Academic Freedom, prepared by the Young Academy of Sweden. This Charter will be finalized soon and the Young Academy Finland – together with other European Young Academies – is committed to ratify it as soon as the final version of the Charter is available. The first day of the meeting concluded with a tour at the Stockholm City Hall and with a visit at the Nobel Museum.
The second day of the meeting featured a conference ‘Academic Freedom in a New Era‘ at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In addition to young academy members, this conference was attended by policymakers, heads of funding bodies and world-leading researchers. The conference sessions included invited talks both by early-career and experienced researchers, and the talks were always followed by interactive panel discussions. YAF member Salla-Maaria Laaksonen was one of the invited speakers of the conference, discussing the role of science communication and branding in science and higher education. During the conference day, the participants also got the chance to visit the meeting room where Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and economic sciences are decided and announced.
Longer reports about the ENYA2023 meeting can be found on the website of the Young Academy of Sweden: Day 1 report and Day 2 report
