The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS-KNAW) is an intellectual haven for international scientists, writers, journalists and artists to pursue their own research interests and passions, to work together to cross boundaries and to share their knowledge with society. It offers a diverse year-group of about 60 NIAS Fellows the opportunity to devote themselves to an independent research project of their own design. NIAS was founded in 1971 and is the oldest independent Institute for Advanced Study in Europe. It is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and located in Amsterdam.