About us

On 25th October 2007, the Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters Jakiunde was founded in Donostia-San Sebastián on the initiative of Eusko Ikaskuntza/The Basque Studies Society, which, backed by all the Universities in the geographical area home to the Basque language and culture, resolved to promote the creation of an Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.
A top-level consultancy body, Jakiunde was created with the aim of becoming a reference forum for society. Its objective is to be an exemplary institution in both its make-up and its work, able to serve as a guide as a result of its scientific rigour and knowledge, and to contribute to procuring suitable solutions to today’s problems.
With the physicist Pedro Miguel Etxenike as its current President, Jakiunde brings together a group of persons publicly renowned for their work in different fields of the pure and applied sciences, artistic creation and critical thought, who have opted to work together to offer society their qualified perception as regards the great new future challenges. Its members include past winners of the Euskadi Research Award, the Príncipe de Viana Award and the Eusko Ikaskuntza Award, i.e. prestigious specialists in areas such as Literature, Law, History, Anthropology, Science, Cinema, Music and Architecture.
The aim is for all of them to engage in joint reflection and provide their opinions on the great new challenges facing the scientific, literary and artistic community and society in general, guaranteeing information to the utmost level of knowledge.
Inspired on the most advanced models for Academies existing in Europe, Jakiunde performs functions such as research and drawing up of studies, reports and statements of particular prestige and importance, collaborating on cultural projects, participating in debates within the scientific community and in state and international academic forums, promoting and providing organisation of courses, congresses, exhibitions, competitions, conferences and other scientific and artistic encounters on topics of interest, defining and supervising the scientific and artistic content of the projects entrusted to it, and assessing the quality of studies and reports and promoting dissemination of knowledge of the Sciences, Arts and Letters, among others.
In accordance with its Statutes, Jakiunde’s permanent members meet in plenary sessions with the object of approving the work to be done by the specialist committees during the rest of the year. These committees consist of the academicians themselves, backed by experts in each of their particular fields, if they so decide.