Raising Public Awareness of Science and Technology among Ethnic Minorities

Presentation of the EU-funded research project ETHNIC, which was launched earlier this year.

The project ETHNIC
The European Commissions Research Directorate has funded the ETHNIC initiative through the 5th Framework Programme. Organisations from 6 European countries, Austria, United Kingdom, Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Hungary are working together, co-ordinated by the Austrian BIT Bureau for International Research and Technology Cooperation. The project ETHNIC is unique in being the first of its kind, to be carried out at European level.
,The Challenge
The project ETHNIC aims to increase the public awareness of science and technology issues among ethnic minorities, with a focus on Biotechnology, Information Technologies an Engineering Sciences, within the European context. Target groups are children from ethnic minorities, including young adults and their parents, and the Science & Technology community.
In Western technological societies, Maths, Science & Technology allow access to some people, and keep out others, especially those from socially underprivileged groups, women and ethnic minorities. This, in the long term, can be considered to be a tragic waste of human resources within Europe. Many Member States, and Candidate Countries have huge or significant ethnic minority groups and there is a pressing need to take up action and address these issues in a more rigorous and systematic manner.
,Plan of Action (March 2003 February 2005)
The 2 year plan of action has 4 key elements:
1. Dialogue with the public: This will be delivered through consultative panels, focus groups, seminars, exhibitions, after-school sessions and information days. These will be highly publicised events, targeted at ethnic minorities.,2. The role of the media an Science communicators: This will involve improving Science communication to ethnic minority communities, and will involve specialist and non- specialist media and press, and utilisation of the Internet.,3. Monitoring an Evaluation: The project outcomes will be monitored and evaluated, with a view to establishing a benchmark for best practice across Europe.,4. Production of a good practice document: A good practice document will be produced at the end of the project, to disseminate its aims, objectives and achievements. This groundbreaking document will be a unique production, as it will be the first of its kind in Europe.
For further information please visit our web site: http://www.bit.ac.at/ethnic
or contact the co-ordinator team:
Dr. Rita Litauszky - e-mail: [e-mail],Dr. Sabine Herlitschka - e-mail: [e-mail]
BIT Bureau for International Research and Technology Cooperation,Donau-City-Strasse 1, 1220 Vienna, Austria,

Countries

Austria, Italy, United Kingdom