And that launches us right into the topic. Firstly, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to you, the guest researchers of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and your families. This year we are not meeting in my official seat, Schloss Bellevue. As you are no doubt aware, it is in the process of being refurbished. But what venue would be more appropriate than a place that bears the name of the Humboldt brothers? I am grateful that we are able to be hosted by the Humboldt Forum, and I am convinced that here in the Schlüterhof our get-together will be just as pleasant as those we have enjoyed in previous years in the grounds of Schloss Bellevue. I am delighted that you are all here. Welcome!

Even at that time, the great explorer, naturalist and world traveller Alexander von Humboldt realised that academic excellence – or, as he so charmingly put it – true cosmical views cannot be the work of a single people. Only transnational exchange and competition among the best talents spark innovation and contribute to solving the greatest tasks facing humanity. We need international academic networks, we need institutions that bring together and support outstanding researchers – as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has been doing for decades.

Every year, it enables more than 2000 academics from all over the world to spend time in Germany, to conduct research, to teach and to live here. That is an excellent opportunity for the people who come to us – but I would expressly add that it is also a great opportunity for our country, for Germany as an academic location thereby becomes more international and assumes a more prominent role on the global stage. We become more globally minded – and that also benefits us as a society. Allow me to thank you, Professor Schlögl, and your staff for the outstanding work of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Yes indeed, finding solutions to today’s challenges is impossible without international exchange. And not only because we need the know-how of the best minds from all over the world. No, the challenges facing us are global ones: whether climate change or the spread of viruses, energy supply, artificial intelligence or migration. The fact that we are able to bring even more top foreign researchers to Germany and offer them even better conditions through the Global Minds Initiative Germany is therefore an important and necessary step.

These cooperation formats also contribute to academic freedom, which in Germany is enshrined in the constitution. The free exchange of data, of findings, free academic discourse – these are the building blocks required for successful research. Nonetheless – and no one is more aware of this than you are – academic research has lived through better times. In many places, free and fair academic competition is restricted or no longer possible at all. With some countries, cooperation in the sphere of research has become much more difficult, especially countries led by autocrats. And even what is probably the world’s most prominent academic location, the United States, is currently subjected to state dictates – years ago most of us would never have imagined that things would reach this point.

Wolfgang Wick, Chair of the German Science and Humanities Council, recently said that the field of academia is under considerable strain. He warned against national isolation and emphasised that there is no alternative to cooperation also in the future. Sovereignty and cooperation are not a contradiction in terms, rather, they are vital if academia is to remain reliable, open and innovative in the future.

Yes, academia has to remain open at all costs – and yet that is precisely what makes it vulnerable. It is a barely solvable dilemma. Threats from espionage, cyberattacks and the exploitation of research data are calling research security into question. New efforts must be made to maintain cross-border cooperation in spite of this and to strive for excellence. And even more is at stake: in the past, academic diplomacy has often opened doors and built bridges between states where to do so was not, not yet or no longer possible in other areas. Let us preserve these bridges – even if unfortunately we have to be more vigilant in monitoring who is allowed to set foot on them. By so doing, we are protecting you, your work and ultimately all of us.

Esteemed guests, you are academic diplomats in the best sense of the term. Your work is academic freedom in practice. You strengthen the international academic community and thereby also fulfil your responsibility for promoting democracy. Informed public debate and sound analysis are crucial to the survival of democracies. Only then are citizens in a position to make well-informed democratic decisions, and that is a vital, indispensable, prerequisite for democracy. Only then can we shape the future, only then can transformation succeed. That is why protecting academic freedom is a top priority for us. Academic freedom is essential.

I would like to thank you for conducting research and working here in Germany, and I wish you and your families a pleasant stay which may lead to you forging a lasting connection with our country. And I would like to thank the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation once again for the opportunities you offer to the scholarship recipients and for your commitment to ensuring that their time with us is as enjoyable as possible.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am looking forward to talking to you and hope that we all have an interesting and inspiring time.

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