Collaboration, Security, and Peace: Highlights from NBM Riga 2026

This year’s discussions centered on the evolving role of science in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. The opening keynote, “Science for Security and Resilience,” delivered by Prof. Gundars Bērziņš (Rector of the University of Latvia), set a profound tone, examining how universities must navigate times of societal stress and outlining critical tensions modern academia faces. These included the active fight against misinformation, the shifting boundary between academia and national defense, the reality of dual-use research, as well as the emerging view of universities as vital infrastructure for national resilience.

Expanding on this theme, Prof. Sanita Osipova (Supreme Court Judge and Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences) delivered a powerful address on academic integrity. She warned of a quiet, creeping erosion of academic freedom across Europe due to political and commercial pressures, reminding the audience that true research ethics require structural courage and a fiercely protected independent culture.

Additional input was provided by members of the young academies with talks on Biological & Food Security (Laura Bacete Cano, Sweden), Local Energy & Circular Economies (Andrius Tamošiūnas, Lithuania), Human Security in the High North (Erik Sveberg Dietrichs, Norway), Historical Perspectives on Peace (Hannah Kaarina Yoken, Finland) and Measuring the Invisible (Ingus Pērkons, Latvia).

The event was complemented by a workshop on Research Ethics, examining its causes and consequences as well as ways to protect them, and a panel discussion on Academic Freedom, a topic in which the Young Academy of Sweden has been highly active in the past – from the Stockholm Charter (2023) and Call for Action (2025) to an international conference in 2026.