Raising Public Awareness - European Science and Technology Week

Raising Public Awareness

European Science and Technology Week

Background

The rationale for holding a Science and Technology Week has its roots in the importance of the role of science and technology in modern societies and the need to ensure that the public recognises this importance.

The Week was launched in 1993, on the initiative of the European Commission and was held in November annually up until 1997. In 1997 the Week gave way to a major international conference, Science and Technology Awareness in Europe: New Insights, which permitted both in-depth and broad-based reflection on the Week itself, and provided an international forum to consider how the impact of scientific and technological knowledge on society, the economy, culture and politics could be assessed.

In 1998 the Week returned to being project-based and consisted of four large pan-European projects that culminated in a presentation in the European Union Pavilion on 27th-31st August during the EXPO '98 exhibition which took place in Lisbon.

Today, such is the importance that the Commission attaches to scientific awareness and education that raising public awareness of science and technology is now the subject of a clearly defined action within the Human Potential Programme of the Fifth Framework Programme. In order to widen potential participation, henceforth the Week will be launched on the basis of projects submitted to the Commission in response to Calls for Proposals.

The timing of this annual event is determined by the Commission on the basis of the time required for the preparation of the activities that have been proposed and selected for funding. On this basis, it is anticipated that in 2001 European Science and Technology Week will take place in November, but the exact timing will only be announced after completion of the 2nd Call for Proposals (see Raising Public Awareness).

For more information about the European Science and Technology Week 2000 consult the project synopses and the RTD Info Special Edition on Science Week 2000.