Highlights 2020-2021

KVAB

• The Class of Technical Sciences KTW has been a Euro-CASE member since mid-2018, KTW is one of four classes of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (KVAB). KTW is represented by the former KVAB President, Joos Vandewalle, on the Euro-CASE Board.
• Two key achievements for KTW in 2020 include the release of two Position Papers:
  • “Societal values in digital innovation: who, what and how?”: international experts bring a future-oriented message for society and policy.
  • “The role of gas in the Belgian energy transition”: making gas-applications completely fossil-free by 2050 requires carbon-free technologies or the use of CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage)?
• On top of that, the Thinkers’ programme “Soils as Natural Capital”, was rolled out, focusing on three themes: healthy soils for sustainable land management in the 21st century, the importance of soils in a changing climate and the appropriation of soils as a natural capital.

ARB

• In 2020, the ARB has published a report “On sharing knowledge and fostering ‘open science’”. The main theme of this report deals with the dissemination of knowledge through major international conferences, academic journals, and free and fast communication between researchers and innovators in the context of reducing climate footprints.
• For the “Chaire SFPI”, a cooperation between the ARB and the Belgian Federal Holding and Investment Company (SFPI-FPIM), Max Krahé was appointed to study public investment in private enterprises, and in particular how such investments can be used to advance socially and environmentally sustainable development. The report From system-level to investment-level Sustainability. An epistemological oneway street was published in 2021 (https://www.academieroyale.be/ Academie/documents/Opinio_SFPI_numerique31253.pdf). Besides this report, a series of public lectures and discussions were organised in 2020 and are available online.
• At the initiative of its “Classe Technologie et Société”, the ARB organized in 2021 a joint session bringing together the other “Classes” (Sciences, Letters and Moral and Political Sciences, Arts) on the theme of « La transition vers un futur souhaitable » (The transition to a desirable future), available online. The proceedings have been published.https://lacademie.tv/conferences/seance-commune-desclasses-la-transition-vers-un-futur-souhaitable).
• In 2021 as well, the “Classe Technologie et Société” also organized a workshop on IA (« L’intelligence artificielle : avec ou sans vous ? »).