The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is an association which promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies such as the National Scientific Committees and the representation of Belgium in international scientific organisations.
RASAB was formed as a non-profit organization (Association without lucrative purpose) in 2001 by the Dutch-speaking academy KVAB (Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten i.e. Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts) and by the French-speaking academy ARB (Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique i.e. The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium).
The association is headquartered in the buildings of the former Royal Stables at the Academy Palace, Hertogsstraat 1 Rue Ducale B-1000 Brussels.
RASAB was founded in 2001 by the two Belgian academies which are connected through their working language either to the Flemish community or to the French community of Belgium as a collaborative association with the aim of promoting the science and the arts on a national and international level in Belgium. To meet this demand, the academies organise scientific and cultural activities, they try to stimulate cooperation between universities in Belgium, they assure Belgian representation in international organisations and forums, they attract foreign researchers, they give recommendations and advice to institutions involved in government, industry, education and research, and they give prizes to talented researchers and artists.
The Belgian academies are successor institutions to the Imperial and Royal Academy of Brussels established in 1772 by Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg, minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands during the reign of Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa.