Lecture given by Prof. Jörg Hacker, President of Leopoldina

In the Grand Hall of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts on Wednesday, July 18, as part of the two-day visit of a delegation of the German National Academy Leopoldina, Professor Jörg Hacker, Leopoldina President, gave a lecture entitled “Science in international cooperation and the potential of the Berlin Process.” The lecture was preceded by a meeting with SASA representatives, which discussed bilateral cooperation between the German and Serbian academies and the establishment of a West Balkan foundation for research, intended for postdoctoral studies of young scientists.

Prof. Hacker pointed out the focus of the Berlin Process on civic society in the Western Balkans and the neighboring region, with its particular emphasis on the potential of science to take active part in the process.

“Meanwhile, four conferences of West Balkan academic and higher education institutions have taken place, representing a first step towards a stabilization of relations among scientific circles in the Western Balkans and beyond. Also, it has been proposed that a foundation be established with the purpose of enabling exchange of young scientists within the Western Balkans and elsewhere, and it is of particular importance that the foundation should become permanent and enable exchange of knowledge and other information related to science,” Professor Hacker said.
SASA Vice-President, Academician Ljubomir Maksimović, said that until now there has been no bilateral cooperation between the German and Serbian academies, but that they have strongly cooperated within the Berlin Process and at scientific conferences of West Balkan academies.

“During the conferences, significant progress was made regarding the attitude of all the participants, which is not reflected as clearly in the overall process of coming closer within the Berlin Process as it is in the understanding between academies. Perhaps from a scientific point of view we have made a step towards overcoming problems that from other points of view, such as political and social, are being solved at a slower rate”, Academician Maksimović explains.