Phasing out of structural subsidies is a mortal blow for the KVAB

From 2026 onwards, the KVAB will lose its structural government funding. This austerity measure will yield a mere €750,000, but it confronts the KVAB with an existential crisis. Since 1772, the KVAB has brought science and the arts together, connecting researchers, artists, policymakers and the general public, and functioning as an independent sounding board for complex social issues.

The Academy provides multidisciplinary knowledge in the form of science-based publications on topics such as energy, mobility, AI, education, art & culture and disinformation. It organises programmes for a wider audience such as the Spring Cycle, promotes international cooperation and by means of prestigious prizes it stimulates high-level research, science communication and the arts. In addition, it provides infrastructure and expertise to other scientific organizations.

Budget cuts threaten the role KVAB fulfils as an independent institution, and reduce the visibility of Flanders in European knowledge networks, in which KVAB plays an active and important role. Especially now, in times of disinformation, technological upheavals and geopolitical uncertainty, investing in knowledge is vital.

The open letter in support of the KVAB can be read and downloaded as a PDF here.

Would you like to endorse the open letter? You can do so here.