2006: Spaniards in Norway, Germans in Portugal, Lithuanians in the Netherlands! A new European migration policy?
Yes and no: the European science festivals and science weeks exchange their events all across Europe – to show, how interesting science is, to discuss even the hottest issues of science and to appeal to the responsibility of the Europeans for their own future.
The first EUROPEAN SCIENCE FESTIVAL was launched this week under the acronym "WONDERS 2006" by the non-profit science associations EUSCEA, ECSITE and EUJSA, funded mainly by the European Commission and by the members of EUSCEA.
The Europe Union sometimes seems paralysed in issues like constitution, demography, budget, reforms etc. Many Europeans have their doubts about the future of the Union.
But, science is undoubtedly an asset of Europe, which has to grow in excellence and in public acceptance.
Therefore, the organisations for Science Communication Events came together to act in a positive way for a better European future: to organise a "Carousel of Science" bringing science closer to the general public, creating dialogues in "Science Cafés", asking Europeans to "Click for the Climate", opening the discussion on future strategies for European science communication and exchanging science events all over Europe.
The "Carousel of Science" is an exchange of science events between 21 organisations of science festivals in 17 European countries and in Israel. Each science festival hosts events from another organisation – and selects the best communicative event. These selected events will be sent to the "Finals" at the Heureka science centre in Finland. And there, the "winner" will be chosen, the event, which can communicate interesting science in the most entertaining way. (The "Carousel" can be seen already at the beta-version of www.wonders.at.)
The "Click for the Climate" is an invitation to all Europeans to pledge to care for lesser energy consumption and to preserve our climate. Each science festival will have a website in its own language, where several possibilities to save energy are listed. Each person can select their "pledge" and will get information about how much energy would be saved, if all people in the country would do the same.
"Science Cafés" are dialogues in an informal setting like a Viennese "Kaffeehaus" (coffee shop), where scientists, teachers and interested persons come together to discuss interesting and even "hot" issues about science – moderated by a science journalist of EUSJA. The issues will range from genetically modified organisms to science teaching in school, from medicine (e.g. dying in dignity) to geology ("hot" volcanoes).
EUSCOS, the discussion on a future European Science Communication Strategy is started as a blog in the web: How shall all European science communicators work together for an interesting and brighter European future?
The first "Carousel" event took place as a pilot the United Kingdom. The next events happen in Madrid (April 20, guests from Slovenia), in Luxemburg (April 22, guests from Denmark), in Göteborg, S (May 8, guests from the Netherlands) and in Munich, D (July 15, guests from France). The last event will be the science festival in Portugal, starting on November 20 with guests from Munich.
The "Finals" at the Heureka science centre in Vantaa, Finland, will start on December 8, 2006, when all selected science events will meet to celebrate the "best of the best".
All plans are set to continue WONDERS also next year with about 30 organisations from Lisbon to Moscow, from Istanbul to Iceland.
EUSCEA: European Science Events Association - the society for nearly all European institutions, which organise science weeks, science festivals etc. - www.euscea.org
ECSITE: European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology Exhibitions – the association of European science museums and science centers - www.ecsite.net
EUSJA: European Union of Science Journalists' Association - the society for European Science Journalists - www.eusja.org
WONDERS: "Welcome to Observations, News & Demonstrations of European Research & Science" - www.wonders.at (beta version)
BA: The British Association for the Advancement of Science developed the sub-project "Click for the Climate".
EUSCOS: European Science Communication Strategy, a discussion on how all European science communicators should work together.