Warsaw 12-14 May Science & Art

The main objective of a series of concerts, exhibitions, seminars and lectures is to portray links between science and art in three fields of contemporary civilizational and global challenges – energy, ecology and climate. Solving problems resulting from limited energy resources, environmental protection issues, climate change phenomena requires interaction of various social groups, including artists and researches. For artists issues concerning energy, ecology and climate are a source of inspiration, for scientists – they constitute research fields. The challenges the contemporary world is facing right now demand intensive cooperation and common quest for solutions, since quite often their scale exceeds one country's ability to cope with them without external help. The mixture of different attitudes and perspectives might be the chance to find new solutions and helpful ideas.

The series of Science & Art in Europe is, on one hand, supposed to enable the exchange of thoughts among the scientists coming from Germany and Poland and to present outstanding artists from both countries and on the other hand, the event is addressed to a larger audience, to whom we would like to introduce the up-to-date achievements of science and art. It is important to depict the linkages between science and art, which at first sight seem to be quite remote. Most of the events, which will happen along the Royal Route – in the interiors of the Royal Castle, the Ujazdowski Castle and the Parliament – have an interdisciplinary character, which will gather researchers, artists, politicians and journalists.

The meeting in Warsaw is the third event of this kind organized since 2001 alternately in Poland and Germany (previously in Krakow, Dresden and Berlin).

This year's conference is organized by the Foundation for Polish Science – brought to life in 1991- independent, non-profit and non-governmental institution fulfilling its mission to support science. The Foundation has become engaged in the realization of the project Science & Art In Europe mainly because of its increasing international activities, aiming at supporting scientific cooperation between Polish and German researchers. Science & Art in Europe does not only significantly contribute to the realization of the Foundation's goals, but it opens the FNP to the new audiences, which are also of great interest and potential.

The initiator of the project is prof. Klaus Hahlbrock, a renowned biologist dealing with biodiversity. He is an adversary of joining research at different levels: starting with molecular ones up to the ecosystem research. He is the author of manifold publications devoted to these topics. His book Feeding the planet, is a perfect example of such a complex attitude: it is a mixture of molecular, physiological and ecological approach in seeking for solutions to the global problems. Professor Hahlbrock was a Vice President of Max Planck Society, he is also a laureate of various prestigious awards and distinctions (Otto-Bayer, Tate&Lyle and Nicolaus Copernicus Medal awarded by the Polish Academy of Sciences).