Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has had to move his annual reception for fellows of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation from the park at Schloss Bellevue to the internet. Steinmeier siad in his virtual greeting:
“The Humboldt Foundation’s Annual Meeting is a wonderful example for what is possible in a virtual space. It shows how valuable digital exchange is, even if it naturally can’t replace actual physical meetings.”
He emphasised the importance of the contributions being made by science and scholarship and the Humboldt Foundation’s international research network during the crisis:
“Right now we are realising just how much we need global cooperation. There is simply no national solution to a crisis like this. Even when borders have to be closed temporarily, science and the political sector cannot revert to isolation and going it alone. We have to join forces in order to develop treatments and vaccines and we have to continue working together to fight climate change, hunger and poverty.”
The Humboldt Foundation was holding its entire Annual Meeting in digital form this year with more than 1,000 participants from some 140 countries on 24 and 25 June. The programme featured not only discussions, talks and workshops but also music, science slams and a children’s programme. In keeping with the spirit of international exchange and the family-like character of the network, individuals from throughout the world who have been sponsored by the Humboldt Foundation have also produced a video to the disco classic “We are Family” that will be released today at the Annual Meeting.
The Foundation has organised the meeting around the motto of its campaign #ResearchAcrossBorders. Hans-Christian Pape, President of the Humboldt Foundation said:
“By doing so, we are sending a signal for international cooperation in research during this pandemic. This crisis is changing the world. We will find solutions only when we work together and share our science. The Covid-19 crisis is a wake-up call for all those who are still doubtful: international cooperation and open-mindedness are what help us move forward – not nationalism or new dividing lines."
He also made a strong statement for fostering rational interaction and fighting populism:
“We must defend scientific freedom and academic thinking in the face of populism and conspiracy theories because populism and conspiracy theories are currently rampant and spreading – quite similarly to a virus that is threatening to infect ever larger numbers of people and, at the same time, knows no boundaries".
The guests and speakers at the virtual meeting included Michelle Müntefering, Minister of State in Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. She presented the Humboldt Alumni Awards for innovative networking initiatives. She said:
“The Foundation is sending an enormously important signal with its digital meeting. That signal is: we are staying in contact. Especially now. The Covid-19 pandemic has once again made it clear to us all that we will be able to master the enormous global problems of the 21st century only as a global community. And that research will play a key role in this connection."
Wolf-Dieter Lukas, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, also underscored the importance of science and scholarship during the current crisis:
“The political sector needs research as the foundation for its actions. One of research’s important tasks is to seek dialogue and inject objectivity into debates."
The kick-off to the Annual Meeting is available as video stream on Youtube and the Foundation's website. Day 2 of the Annual Meeting was held using a special event platform and will not be open to the public.
