The convention establishing CERN was ratified on 29 September 1954 by 12 countries in Western Europe. The acronym CERN originally represented the French words for … See more

Member states and budget
Since its foundation by 12 members in 1954, CERN regularly accepted new members. All new members have remained in the organization continuously since their accession, except Spain and Yugoslavia. Spain … See more

The CERN Science Gateway, opened in October 2023, is CERN's latest facility for science outreach and education. It is home to a range of … See more

Current complex
CERN operates a network of seven accelerators and two decelerators, and some additional small accelerators. Each machine in the chain increases the energy of particle beams before delivering them to experiments or to … See more

The smaller accelerators are on the main Meyrin site (also known as the West Area), which was originally built in Switzerland alongside the … See more

The Open Science movement focuses on making scientific research openly accessible and on creating knowledge through open tools and processes. Open access, open data, open source software and hardware, open licenses, digital preservation See more

CERN launched its Cultural Policy for engaging with the arts in 2011. The initiative provided the essential framework and foundations for … See more