On December 18, 2023, a session was held to welcome Professor Angelos Chaniotis as a new member of the Royal Academy of Belgium. Angelos Chaniotis is a Professor of Ancient History and Classical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He is also the President of the Board of Directors of Komvos-Node. 

The Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Fine Arts of Belgium (French: Académie royale des Sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique) is the Academy of the French Community of Belgium, headquartered in the Academy Palace in Brussels. 

It is an Academy of great history, originating from the Literary Academy founded in 1769 by Carl von Cobenzl, under the patronage of Empress Maria Theresa, and is also known as La Thérésienne. Cobenzl’s successor, Georg Adam Prince of Starhemberg, extended the Academy’s scope to include the sciences. After this, it was granted the right to carry the title of the Imperial and Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters of Brussels. The mission of La Thérésienne was to revitalize the intellectual life of the country and promote scientific research in many fields. 

The French occupation interrupted the Academy’s activities between 1794 and 1816, after which King William I, sovereign of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1815, reinstated the Academy with a Royal Decree on May 17, 1816, granting it the title of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters. 

In 1845, Leopold I renamed it as: “Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique”, adding Fine Arts as a branch of the Academy. Since then, the reigning King of Belgium has been the patron of the Academy and awards membership.