Science, Culture, and Commons in 21st Century Europe

While the so-called "Enlightenment" opened up in the 18th century new avenues of emancipation for the sciences and the arts in Europe, today we are witnessing a decline in reason and tolerance. This can be manifested in particular by a lack of trust in science, due to the fact that science is not sufficiently considered as part of culture-at-large.  Supporting the opening of science to make it a form of “commons”, promoting education to science at all levels, providing expert advice to policy-makers for better informed decisions, are all among the key missions of Academies, and any action likely to contribute in this sense to bridging the existing gaps between the scientific community, the political world and society in general, can only benefit from a strengthening of European collaborations. These issues will be addressed from angles such as the Open Science movement, the impact of structuring European institutions such as the ERC, and the role of networks of Academies.