The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) will not be involved in the nominations and selection of the Heineken Awards in 2024. This  is motivated by Heineken’s activities in Russia.

The KNAW has been inextricably linked to the Heineken Awards since 1964. The prize money (of 200,000 dollars) comes from the extremely wealthy Heineken family via several institutions, while the KNAW, the scientific fellowship, judges the participants. The awards are global status symbols; many recipients go on to win a Nobel prize. There are even awards for up-and-coming talent; former Radboud philosopher Fleur Jongepier received one in 2022.

Dilemma

But the 60-year marriage has come to an end. Earlier this year, research platform Follow the Money discovered that Heineken contradicted their promises by still actively operating in Russia, despite the war in Ukraine. The company’s Russian subsidiary even released 61 new products. Heineken would later put the subsidiary up for sale; there are rumours that they now may have found a buyer.

Heineken’s continued activity in Russia ‘motivated the KNAW to take a critical look at their participation in the nominations and selection round of the Heineken Awards’, the fellowship wrote in a newsletter.

‘We faced a dilemma due to the recent developments’,  stated a spokesperson. ‘We have a shared history spanning nearly sixty years.’ In the newsletter, KNAW director Marileen Dogterom states that the decision was made ‘with great heartache.’

Promoting beer

‘It’s good of the KNAW to come to this decision’, explains Klaas Landsman, Professor of Mathematical Physics. The winner of the Spinoza Prize has long been critical of the relation between the KNAW and the Heineken Awards: earlier, he called on the KNAW to sever their ties. According to him, this cooperation essentially means that the KNAW promotes beer consumption, even though scientists are learning more and more about the dangers of alcohol. ‘Those conclusions are then undermined by the alcohol industry’, Landsman claims.

Last year, the KNAW made a statement in which they emphasised that the awards are not paid for by the Heineken company, but rather by the family, through their Alfred Heineken Fondsen Foundation and the Dr A. H. Heineken Foundation for Art. Neither organisation is directly affiliated with the brewery.

Hypocritical

Landsman thinks it is hypocritical for the KNAW to  break off their collaboration with Heineken over the war in Ukraine. ‘The KNAW made the decision “with great heartache” and announced it with little fanfare; not even an official press statement. Either say that a company is bad or say that the awards are still a good idea and keep them going.’ Landsman thinks that the KNAW should have cut ties with Heineken much sooner. ‘Heineken’s business practices were dubious even before the war in Ukraine. On top of that, the damaging effects of alcohol have been known for decades.’

The foundations responsible for the awards have stated that they will continue as scheduled in 2024, despite the lack of KNAW judges; they are looking for new independent juries.