In 2020, NEMO had the pleasure to invite Gabriel to a NEMO Political Internship at the Children’s Science Centre Muzeiko in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Commissioner was very pleased with the experience and found the opportunity to have been a privilege and a great reminder of how science is essential in helping children develop key life skills and that museums can play an important role in that process.
Just as the science centre ties together culture and science and highlights the need for culture for knowledge creation, so did the Commissioner’s portfolio. The clear link and combination of culture, research innovation was helpful to Gabriel when she campaigned for more funding opportunities for culture under Horizon Europe, the EU’s research envelope.
Until a new Commissioner has been appointed, Margaritis Schinas, the Vice-President of the European Commission and responsible for the “Promotion of our European Way of Life”, will be in charge of Culture (as well as Education and Youth). Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, will take care of Innovation and Research.