International federations

Each European country has its own Academy, which traditionally oversees science in its own country. The Academies work together and have united in networks.

The Belgian Academies are, mostly through RASAB, members of the relevant networks of Academies, both in Europe and worldwide. They represent Belgium in these networks by participating in General Meetings and other governing bodies and by delegating experts to specific projects. In these networks, scientists collaborate to draw up independent recommendations for European and global policy and society. The Belgian Academies are mainly active at the European level, where, thanks to their location, they can offer added value to the federations.

ALLEA is the umbrella federation of ALL European Academies. With 59 learned societies and academic think tanks as members, ALLEA is well placed to address European policy issues, mostly about science, research and innovation. The organization also has its own working groups, composed of members of the member Academies, including one on science and ethics and one on intellectual property rights. The KVAB is a member of ALLEA.

CAETS (International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences) is an international organization of Academies of engineering and technical sciences, with one member Academy per country. The KVAB is represented in the Board of Directors of CAETS.

EASAC is the European Academies' Science Advisory Council. This collaboration between European Academies generates scientific advice for European policy makers on various topics, such as energy and the environment. The opinions of EASAC are developed  by temporary working groups (steering panels) with experts and members of Academies across Europe. The KVAB has collaborated on several EASAC reports and also regularly delegates experts to EASAC Steering Panels.

H.R. NETWORK (The International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies) is a network of Academies worldwide (about 60 Academies are currently members) that stands up for fellow-scientists who are seriously hampered in their research activities, whether  by political regimes that cannot agree with the research conducted, pressure groups that are unable to accept their research methods and/or results, or by industrial consortia which feel their interests threatened by scientific research.

IAP is the InterAcademy Partnership, a worldwide collaboration of Academies for science. IAP supports member Academies to deliver scientific recommendations to the general public and policy makers on major social developments. IAP has published reports on, among other things, world population growth, climate change and education in evolutionary theory. The KVAB is represented by RASAB in IAP.

ISC is the International Science Council, a global NGO comprising more than 100 national scientific bodies (such as Academies) and dozens of international scientific unions. It mobilizes the international scientific community to strengthen international science for the benefit of society. In 2018, the International Council of Science (ICSU, primarily natural sciences and engineering) merged with the International Social Science Council to form the International Science Council.

UAI (Union Académique Internationale) is an organization composed of the national Academies of more than 60 countries and various international Academies. The UAI wants to promote the advancement of knowledge, develop scientific exchanges and support initiatives by its members. Especially the humanities and social sciences are the focus of attention.The KVAB is represented in the UAI.

Euro-CASE (European Council of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering) is an independent non-profit umbrella organization of national Academies of engineering, applied sciences and technology from 22 European countries. It was founded in 1992 and acts as a permanent forum for exchanges and consultation between European institutions, industry and research institutions.

A number of the KVAB’s initiatives are also embedded in European networks, such as the Young Academy (national young Academies in other countries, Global Young Academy, Young Academy of Europe) or the Flemish Committee for Scientific Integrity (national bodies of scientific integrity in other countries, ENRIO).