ALLEA publishes Italian, Portuguese, Slovak and Slovenian translations of the European Code of Conduct



A new set of translations of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity has been published on November  2018 with the support of the European Commission’s Translation Services and ALLEA Member Academies.

ALLEA has just released four new translations of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. The newly available translations are in Italian, Portuguese, Slovak and Slovenian. In the upcoming months, ALLEA will continue to publish translations of the European Code of Conduct in all official languages of the Council of Europe area, as well as selected languages from around the globe.

You can access all available translations of the Code of Conduct here.


Implementing the Code

The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity serves the European research community as a framework for self-regulation across all scientific and scholarly disciplines and for all research settings.

The 2017 revised edition of the Code addresses emerging challenges emanating from technological developments, open science, citizen science and social media, among other areas. The European Commission recognises the Code as the reference document for research integrity for all EU-funded research projects and as a model for organisations and researchers across Europe.

The revised Code was published originally in English on 24 March 2017. Since its publication in English, the Code has been used by multiple research institutions and universities across Europe, and presented in various conferences on research integrity and research ethics.

A Nordic perspective on Europe


How have Nordic values contributed to our idea of Europe? On 14 November 2018, the Council of Finnish Academies invited speakers from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Great Britain to take a Nordic perspective on questions of identity, nationalism, migration and populism in Europe. The symposium was held in Helsinki at the House of the Estates and forms part of the ALLEA series “Europeon Test – Narratives of Union and Disunion”, with conferences in various European countries.


ALLEA Vice President Krista Varantola welcomes the audience of the “Europe on Test” symposium at the House of the Estates in Helsinki.

 

In the opening addresses, Professor Jan Sundberg and Professor Krista Varantola, former chancellor of the Council of Finnish Academies and ALLEA Vice President, stressed the need for reflections on European identities in times of multiple crises and growing populist right wing movements in Europe and beyond.

Nordic exceptionalism

In the first session, historical trajectories of the Nordic countries in relation to Europe were examined by Juhana Aunesluoma, Bo Stråth and Mary Hilson. They pointed out that Nordic countries are quite diverse and each one has a distinct history of relations with Europe. Whereas only Finland is in the Eurozone, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have their own currency. In parallel, Finland, Denmark and Sweden are part of the European Union, while Norway and Iceland are not. Some are constitutional monarchies, others republics and three out of five are in the NATO. ALLEA Vice President Krista Varantola illustrated this diversity in Northern Europe by describing Nordic countries as “a typical family that disagrees in words but nevertheless sticks together when they feel their values or actions are questioned or threatened from the other side”.  


Nordic countries are “a typical family that disagrees in words but nevertheless sticks together when they feeltheir values or actions are questioned or threatened from the other side”. – ALLEA Vice President Krista Varantola

Professor Mary Hilson from Aarhus University in Denmark argued that the narrative of a Nordic exceptionalism had a bidirectional effect in all countries. Like in other processes of (European) identity formation, “Nordic Europe” was considered a first step towards an integrated Europe. This narrative at the same time created new boundaries between Nordics and the rest of Europe. Nordic peculiarities such as a high level of public trust and openness towards other cultures further contributed to their integration in Europe.

Populism and migration

The discourse behind European integration is however being challenged or reshaped by the recent global economic crisis, conflicts over migration and mobility, as well as by the spread of populist movements in Europe. In the second and third panel discussions, these changing narratives were analysed. One of the statements was that migration is being blamed for problems that have other roots in the economic and social systems our societies are depending on. Populism and new nationalisms are built on the premise that such systems could be managed by isolated countries themselves. Speakers warned about this increasingly powerful but naïve narrative and called for a deconstruction of such arguments.

Reinventing narratives of Europe

In the concluding reflections, speakers agreed that new narratives are necessary to reinvent the idea of Europe in order to counteract these growing nationalist tendencies. Such voices threaten the achievements of European integration and therefore peace and stability. Nordic European values such as openness and institutional trustworthiness should be emphasised in such narratives. The Nordic welfare state, consensual politics and industrial relations, and a security community in international affairs could help to shape future narratives.

Inspired by a British Academy conference on “European Union and Disunion” in late 2016, the ALLEA series “Europe on Test: Narratives of Union and Disunion” has recently taken up the debate at the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities with the conference “Germany and Europe – Views from within and without” on 20 October 2018.

The initiative seeks to address recent political developments and other aspects of relevance that may pose a challenge for the future of Europe as a community. The debate will continue at upcoming conferences in Torino at the Accademia delle Scienze di Torino on 11 and 12 April 2019, and in Warsaw at the Polish Academy of Sciences on 11 October 2019.

Watch the conference

https://youtu.be/piqZieXTNys

 

ALLEA, FEAM and KNAW publish symposium report on health inequalities

ALLEA, jointly with the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), published the report “Health Inequalities: an interdisciplinary exploration of socioeconomic position, health and causality” today. The publication summarises the main findings of a recent symposium organised by the KNAW in Amsterdam.

The report is part of a project under the tripartite partnership of ALLEA, FEAM and KNAW, which strives to explore the topic of health inequalities using the evidence base and knowledge provided by a range of disciplines such as public health, genetics, economics, demographic studies and other social sciences.

The initiative seeks to identify and comprehend how different life factors can affect our health and wellbeing, and assess the impact they may have on our socioeconomic position (and vice versa). It pays special attention to investigating causal effects of socioeconomic position and health, since different disciplines often use different sets of methods and come to different conclusions.

To align the different approaches, an interdisciplinary symposium was organised in Amsterdam on 24 May 2018 to convene scholars, experts and interested stakeholders. Participants and speakers addressed the socioeconomic disparities and introduced the breadth of various takes on the topic followed by a vibrant panel discussion.  The discussants explored the evidence and perspectives on the issues raised in the project discussion paper.

This report summarises the discussions and scientific findings of the symposium and delivers a concise picture of the current situation. It also reviews the current state of the art in place within the relevant disciplines with multiple references to important studies and research papers that have shaped the discourse around health inequalities. 

ALLEA is delighted to contribute to this joint endeavour as a network with wide membership in the Council of Europe region. Our Member Academies are committed to research excellence and cross-border collaboration as is the case with KNAW that has successfully steered this project and the work of its Scientific Committee.

Download Symposium Report

Download KNAW Discussion Paper

Towards a data-enabled Europe

 

 

“My vision of a data-enabled Europe is that it improves the quality of life of its citizens”

Professor Richard Catlow, Royal Society Foreign Secretary and Vice-President, talked with ALLEA about the motivation behind the ALLEA-Royal Society conference “Flourishing in a data enabled Europe” held on 1-2 November 2018 at Chicheley Hall, United Kingdom. As Chair of the Organising Committee of this initiative, Prof Catlow shared with us his vision on what academies and scientists can do to  promote new uses of data for human benefit.

 

Tell us about the incentives of setting up this initiative.

In September 2017, I summarised the work of the Royal Society and British Academy on Data management use: Governance in the 21st Century at the General Assembly of ALLEA in Budapest. There was high interest in this topic, with many members from academies around Europe recognizing it was timely to consider the impact of data and digital technologies on society. So together with then ALLEA President Gunter Stock we decided to launch a joint Royal Society and ALLEA project to explore a vision for the use of data for human benefit in Europe. This is what led to the pan-European conference on Flourishing in a data-enabled society held on 1-2 November 2018 at Chicheley Hall, UK. The Royal Society is pleased to be hosting a conference that brings together leading thinkers on this topic from across Europe, which is one of our key roles in continuing to input into fora to shape the European scientific endeavour.

 

One of the main features of this conference is that it seeks to involve different sectors: from science to big tech all the way through to governments and public sector. What is expected from this cross-sectoral dialogue?

Currently, there are many debates on the use of data – but they are often unconnected, focusing on particular sectors or disciplines. Although governance solutions are often, and rightly, context specific, there is a need to connect debates across sectors to ensure that learning spreads across different sectors as quickly and effectively as possible. The conference also served to explore the diversity of approaches that can be found across Europe, and to draw where possible features that transcend borders which might inspire strategic decisions from various actors, from industry to governments.

 

How can academies best help shape the debate around the controversial topic of data use?

If we consider the memberships of ALLEA’s network of academies across Europe, there is a tremendous breadth of knowledge and expertise, across all sciences and humanities, that can help shed light on questions about the use of data and digital technologies. Academies can convene leading experts and have a critical role in gathering evidence and informing public debates. All stakeholders need to be engaged. For example, as part of the Royal Society’s work on machine learning, we commissioned a public dialogue which gave us a better understanding of what the UK public thinks about these technologies.

 

What is your vision of a data-enabled Europe?

Overall my vision of a data enabled Europe is that it improves the quality of life of its citizens, including a thriving research community across academia and industry. Technology should serve all of society and not just certain groups, and be trusted as it supports people and communities in their life, their work and their learning, while maintaining human autonomy. Ethical and responsible technology should meet as best as possible the needs of individuals and society. And we need governance and strategies that ensure a fair distribution of benefits and risks.

Learn more about the conference “Flourishing in a data-enabled society”.

ALLEA-Royal Society conference: Living a good digital life in a data-enabled Europe

In this fast-paced environment where technology is an irreplaceable attribute to our modern-day societies, questions about the flows of data we exchange via multiple devices that we own, the electronic residue we leave behind while browsing the internet and the final destination of this data often remain unanswered. At the same time, new applications of data can make a great contribution to human flourishing, but, to realise these benefits, societies must navigate significant choices and dilemmas.

The pan-European ALLEA-Royal Society conference “Flourishing in a data-enabled society” delved into these conundrums during a two-day event held in Buckinghamshire (UK) on 1-2 November 2018. Experts explored major opportunities and challenges that come with new uses of data, and discussed the potential trade-offs that stem from such use across various sectors: in society, from academics to governments, from civil society actors to tech industry.  In a set of keynotes, panel discussions and breakout sessions experts from ALLEA Member Academies representing a variety of academic backgrounds and stakeholders from a multitude of sectors convened for an interactive and multidisciplinary conference at Chicheley Hall, the Royal Society’s residential conference centre.

From fearing new uses of data to data-enabled human flourishing?

A close-up view revealed that not only has this topic gained in relevance over the past few years; it has transformed the ways users perceive technology as large parts of the society increasingly fear the human autonomy be put at risk. Flourishing as such was addressed during the conference from a number of angles while experts from the field of ethics, law and public policy argued that living a good digital life should be viewed at the centre of discussions around the topic of data use.

In his introductory speech, ALLEA President Antonio Loprieno underlined the omnipresence of data in the daily lives of citizens: “Data raises questions like privacy, accountability, legal and ethical aspects. But the core question is certainly how we, humans, can share and use data without the fear of facing a risk. How can data be collected, processed and managed for human good?”

 “Data raises questions like privacy, accountability, legal and ethical aspects. But the core question is certainly how we, humans, can share and use data without the fear of facing a risk. How can data be collected, processed and managed for human good?”  – Antonio Loprieno, ALLEA President

The conference marked the beginning of an interdisciplinary debate across Europe that is timely, relevant and applicable to the digital era. Outcomes of the conference will be released in a discussion paper that will seek to inspire and shape the discourse around a data-enabled Europe. This initiative is the result of a Royal Society-led proposal first presented in the context of ALLEA’s 2017 General Assembly in Budapest.

To learn more on the topic, read ALLEA’s interview with Prof Richard Catlow, Royal Society Foreign Secretary and Vice-President, and Chair of the Organising Scientific Committee of the “Flourishing in a data-enabled society” project.

 

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