Nordic-Baltic Meeting of Young Academies 2026

International cooperation among young academies is an excellent way to share ideas, knowledge, and experience, as well as to promote the development of the participating organizations. Since 2022, these Nordic-Baltic meetings have been held annually, and LJZA is pleased to welcome representatives of young academies from other countries to Riga this year. Previous Nordic-Baltic Meetings were held in Copenhagen (2016), Oslo (2017), Stockholm (2018), Helsinki (2022), Oslo (2023), Copenhagen (2024), and Tallinn (2025).

The three main focus topics of the meeting are:

Science for security and resilience

This session will explore how scientific research strengthens security and resilience in the face of global challenges. Participants will present and discuss research that addresses defence needs and their wider societal benefits, including energy, medicine and food security guided by responsibility, ethics, and international cooperation.

Academic ethics and research integrity

This workshop will address the importance of upholding ethical standards and research integrity in scientific research. Participants will consider how transparency, responsibility, accountability and honesty are essential for advancing knowledge that benefits society. In addition, participants will discuss the effectiveness of institutional approaches to preventing and regulating research misconduct – an endeavour that is addressed differently across countries.

Academic freedom in times of global unrest

This session will serve as a continuation of existing initiatives such as the Stockholm Charter for Academic Freedom (2023) and Call for Action – Academic Freedom Under Threat (2025), which already united the perspectives of young academies from the Nordic and Baltic region. However, in light of broader initiatives such as Choose Europe for Science (2025-2027), it is clear that academic freedom requires further attention globally. To that end, the session will include a panel discussion aimed at identifying additional strategies for early-career researchers to articulate their concerns and act on them.