Event focuses on role of SSH in H2020

A major conference focusing on the role Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) will play in Horizon 2020 has opened in Lithuania.

The two-day event entitled “Horizons for Social Sciences and Humanities” will see over 400 representatives from the European research community, in addition to policy makers and stakeholders, discuss ways to address the most pressing global challenges and the impact of SSH.

Speaking ahead of the conference’s official opening at Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, Professor Dr Dainius Pavalkis, Lithuanian Minister of Education and Science, said: “There is no doubt that SSH have a lot of potential for finding innovative answers – not only to future social issues but also to technological challenges. We are bringing together the EU research community to promote discussions on how to encourage co-operation across scientific fields in order to build an open and growing Europe”.

One of the major objectives of the conference will be to foster the relations of SSH research with other fields of science policy. The event also aims to debate how best to integrate SSH into the Societal Challenges pillar of Horizon 2020. It’s expected the conference will conclude with the ‘Vilnius Declaration – Horizons for Social Sciences and Humanities’, as well as a detailed conference report. Both documents are expected to provide clues on the best ways to integrate SSH disciplines into future European research and innovation strategies; the reports will presented by Pavalkis to the Council of the European Union.

The conference is taking place as part of the Lithuanian Council Presidency and will be officially opened by the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė.