- Back to "About A.C."

Truth springs from argument amongst friends. (David Hume)

The Knowledge Union is responsible of the organization of the periodical Summit of the platform, the European Intersectoral Summit on Research and Innovation (EISRI Summit) and the High-Level Workshops (HLWs).

The HLW’s periodically brings together leading thinkers from university, business, media and policy makers in order to create comprehensive, intersectoral and interdisciplinary debates on the grand challenges that Europe and the world are facing and will have to face in the near future.

Every semester, the Permanent Platform of Atomium Culture organizes one High-Level Workshop (HLW) in collaboration with the institutions engaged in the platform and with the main stakeholders (most authoritative and forward looking researchers; representatives from industry with expertise on the issue, from governmental organizations and media) in order to create comprehensive intersectoral and interdisciplinary debates; debates that can be followed by the public at large to bring a comprehensive and reliable view on questions of public concern.

These are transparent forums for sharing knowledge and jointly defining innovative ideas on how to concretely address the main challenges of today through sustainable collaborations.

For specific information about the first HLW’s:

The HLW on “Governance for a Low-Carbon Society”

The HLW on “eHealth: European Healthcare in a Time of Changing Demographics”

The HLW on “Living in a Low-Carbon Society”

WHY?

The activities of the Knowledge Union are based on the assumption that the transition to a knowledge society requires a change in the way different actors of society interact and a transformation of the structure and patterns of societal interactions.

It is necessary to move away from linear collaborations into a more complex web of knowledge exchange. Into a dynamic where all actors share their knowledge in order to create a whole picture that is bigger and clearer than the sum of the individual contributions; where the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.

In the era of the knowledge society it is not about choosing the correct vision/solution among the suggested proposals, but to bring together the knowledge, expertise and interests of ALL the stakeholders in order to create a realistic and sustainable solution pushed forward by society at large.

The High-Level Workshops are organised in order to create a credible and realistic medium for the public at large to access and understand the complexities of the issues. A better informed society is a society with a higher decision making capacity.

The outcomes and recommendations of the HLWs are summed up within Reports that are then given to the key policy maker from the European Institutions and National governments.