Friends of Europe is a prominent Brussels-based think-tank for EU policy analysis and debate. We are non-profit, completely independent and have no national or political bias. Our goal since 1999 has been to foster open debate on the future of Europe. Our membership base is as youthful as it is influential, and we are dominated by neither academic, political nor corporate opinion. 
Our purpose is to provide an open forum for debate for EU and national policymakers, NGOs, business leaders, media and civil society. Our different event formats have in common an informal and lively style, and they attract leading EU and international personalities. They offer ample opportunity for networking and discussion, and stimulate media interest in sometimes obscure EU issues. More than a traditional think-tank, Friends of Europe aims to stimulate debate beyond the usual Brussels crowd. Our recent series of Atlantic Rendez-Vous debates linked the EU and the US by satellite to discuss common policy priorities. Go to What we do to find out more.

The Fund for Central and East European Book Projects (CEEBP) was established in Amsterdam in 1992 under the auspices of the European Cultural Foundation. Its aim is to enhance the free flow of thought and information across borders, by supporting quality publishing in Central and Eastern Europe.

CEEBP supports the publication and dissemination of high-quality books in the field of literature and the humanities, primarily translations into and between the languages of Central and Eastern Europe.
In addition, the Fund assists publishers and booksellers in introducing professional and structural improvements.

The Flemish-Netherlands association 'Ons Erfdeel vzw' aims to promote cultural cooperation among all speakers of the Dutch language and to increase awareness of Flemish and Dutch culture abroad.

1/9/2008
A NEW BLOG IS BORN
Bookmark this spot: as from the beginning of 2008 it will enlighten you about many a thing Dutch and Flemish. Read and you shall be informed. And for now, while the train of this blog has just started moving, we leave you with these words by the Flemish poet Jan Van Nijlen (1884-1965), printed in the 2006 issue of 'The Low Countries':

And if the train pulls in to some peculiar place
you'd never even heard of, not once in all your days,
then you have reached your goal; then you learn with surprise
what travel means for wanderers and the truly wise...

(From 'Notice to Travellers'. Translated by Tanis Guest)

PASOS promotes and protects open society values, including democracy, rule of law, good governance, respect for and protection of human rights, economic and social development by supporting entities that individually and jointly foster public participation in public policy issues at the European Union level, in other European structures, and in the wider neighbourhood of Europe and Central Asia.

PEN American Center is the largest of the 141 centers of International PEN, the world’s oldest human rights organization and the oldest international literary organization. International PEN was founded in 1921 to dispel national, ethnic, and racial hatreds and to promote understanding among all countries. PEN American Center, founded a year later, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 distinguished writers, editors, and translators. In addition to defending writers in prison or in danger of imprisonment for their work, PEN American Center sponsors public literary programs and forums on current issues, sends prominent authors to inner-city schools to encourage reading and writing, administers literary prizes, promotes international literature that might otherwise go unread in the United States, and offers grants and loans to writers facing financial or medical emergencies. In carrying out this work, PEN American Center builds upon the achievements of such dedicated past members as W. H. Auden, James Baldwin, Willa Cather, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Thomas Mann, Arthur Miller, Marianne Moore, Susan Sontag, and John Steinbeck.

Founded in the UK in 1994 by artists Simon Worthington and Pauline van Mourik Broekman, Mute Magazine started as a platform for critical engagement with issues relating to new media and art. Originally published bi-monthly, Mute Magazine was until recently released twice-yearly in book format. It is now experimenting with a publishing model incorporating Print On Demand (POD) technologies and 'cluster' issues published more frequently in a smaller format. Through all its appearances, Mute has remained a valuable contributor to the UK new media arts scene, as well as being committed to investigation and reflection on social movements, geopolitical developments, information politics and contemporary theory.

For a European Research Space in Social Sciences

Our network aims at analysing the conditions of possibility and realisation of an European space of research in the social sciences. The first objective is to describe the barriers which impede the emergence of such a transnational, multidisciplinary space. Our team plans to achieve the task by a systematically comparative approach of the history of the social sciences within each of the represented national contexts. Intercultural divergences and convergences prevailing within the European space will be identified; obstacles and filters slowing down if not blocking the free circulation of ideas will be delineated.

The Baltic Language and Integration Network (BlLaIn) aims to create opportunities for synergy and to facilitate inter-Baltic collaboration amongst academics, language activists and practitioners in order to:

• promote mutual support to address language and ethnicity-related issues across the Baltic generally
• develop joint approaches in the promotion and management of cultural and linguistic diversity
• critically evaluate goals and outcomes of existing language-related policies in the Baltic and, for comparative purposes, further afield
• develop strategies for future actions on language policy in support of inclusive citizenship and social integration

There will be 3 annual workshops, a final open conference and publications of the outcomes in themed volumes.

 Since 14 February 1992, the Latvian Academy of Sciences (Academia Scientiarum Latviensis) has been functioning as an association of individual scientists in conformity with its newly developed Charter and Statutes. On 23 January 1997, the Charter of the Academy (its supplemented version) was endorsed by the Saeima (Parliament) of the Republic of Latvia. The Latvian Academy of Sciences represents Latvia in the International Council for Science (ICSU), in the Association of All European Academies (ALLEA), in the World Federation of Scientists (WFS), in Union Académique Internationale (UAI), etc.
    The main aims and tasks of the Latvian Academy of Sciences have been formulated in the Charter, to be mentioned here: favouring research in the basic and applied sciences, especially in disciplinary research; promoting studies in Latvian history, culture, and the development of the Latvian language; active participation in establishing Latvian science policy and consultation of the Government about scientific issues; care about publishing of scientific literature, scientific terminology, and maintenance of scientific standards in encyclopedias; organisation of congresses, conferences, discussions, and competitions, popularization of scientific achievements and history of Latvian sciences; maintenance of international contacts of Latvian scientists; protection, maintenance, and perfection of research ethics, discussion principles, and traditions.