Towards better awareness of the impact of bioeconomy on Europeans
Europe has recently adopted the knowledge-based bioeconomy (KBBE) strategy to promote biological innovation and the green economy. However, there is evidence that public understanding of the bioeconomy is poor. The EU-funded BIOPROM (Promotion of the bio-economy through a travelling exhibition in Europe) project sought to promote public engagement. Following expert feedback, workshops and public debates, BIOPROM created 'Mission Possible: Will bioeconomy save the world?', a travelling science exhibition. Launched in Rome in 2013, the interactive exhibition was designed to educate and entertain the public in order to enhance their understanding of the importance of bioeconomy in their daily life and in the future. Science centres in Estonia, Italy, Austria and the United Kingdom hosted the exhibition, attracting about 200 000 visitors in total. The project organised parallel events with European stakeholders and policymakers to foster public debate on the benefits of KBBE. Through practical experiments and workshops, the exhibition specifically focused on teaching primary and secondary students about the bioeconomy. To this end, BIOPROM partnered with science centres in an effort to reach as many schools as possible. The exhibition also attracted adult people in order to learn about bioeconomy and do experiments. To communicate KBBE effectively in Europe, BIOPROM delivered policy recommendations and new concepts in English, Estonian, German, Italian and Russian. A project profile was created on a leading online social networking service, while each participating science centre had a corresponding page. In all, there were nearly 20 000 followers on the social medium. Now that BIOPROM has ended, it agreed to establish a non-profit organisation in Austria to manage the exhibition. This helps ensure the continued exploitation, dissemination and promotion of activities that extoll the virtues of KBBE.
Keywords
Bioeconomy, travelling exhibition, knowledge-based bioeconomy, KBBE, science centres
