Europe unites for science week 2001
11 November 2001 - 11 November 2001
A variety events will take place in more than 20 European countries during Science Week 2001, from 5 to 11 November. As part of the initiative, seven projects selected by the European Commission will organise events across Europe.
'The Union has reinforced and will still reinforce its support for the development of citizens' scientific and technological literacy. We believe this is an important issue,' said EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin. 'Today teaching has become too theoretical, perhaps as a result of a shortage of funds. Initiatives such as the European science week allow us to reintroduce the intuitive dimension into teaching science. They also reinforce dialogue and enable researchers to keep an eye on citizens' expectations,' he said.
EuroPaws, (European public awareness of science initiative) involves partners from Belgium, France and the UK and is seeking to raise public awareness of science through television through initiatives such as grants for TV drama scriptwriting, a festival of TV dramas and prizes for dramas based on factual science stories and fictional stories in which science or technology play a major role. An award ceremony will take place on 5 November in London followed by a project presentation in Brussels on 7 November.
Life in the Universe is a project inviting secondary school students in 23 European countries to present their conception of the universe: What does the 'big bang' theory mean: What forms of life could exist outside the solar system? What constitutes life? What do scientists know about the origins of the works and the worlds around us? Contributions range from the creation of a website to theatre. Two winners from each country will be selected to present their projects at CERN (the European laboratory for particle physics) from 8 to 11 November. Overall winners will receive an invitation to the launch of the Ariane rocket and a visit to the European southern observatory (ESO) in Chile.
A 45 minute documentary on plant biotechnology and a conference debate on the implications of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will be shown at four European science museums: Munich, Bristol, Brussels and Madrid during science week. Part of the 'Biotech Europe' project, the debate on 8 November will feature Mr Busquin.
'Infoplanet', a project involving partners from Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal will culminate in four educational exhibitions (Rome, Thessaloniki, Barcelona and Porto) presenting the latest developments in the field of renewable energy sources, particularly in the Mediterranean region. At each venue, secondary school pupils will be able to meet and debate with researchers and other experts from the field.
PUSH 2001 aims to take a close look at educational modules which permit an active approach to scientific concepts by giving students the opportunity to carry out experiments. Over three days, participants will talk with researchers and attend workshops, which will include dramatisations of science, looking at the work of da Vinci, Darwin and Linnaeus. The workshops will take place in Italy, England and Sweden, the home countries of these legendary scientists.
'Small is beautiful' is a European project aimed at illustrating how microsystems perform. Microsystems, or minute devices, are playing an increasingly important role in our society. Airbags in cars are controlled by Microsystems no bigger than a fingernail and electronic noses detect whether or not food is fresh. During science week, the project participants from the UK will present an exhibition in Manchester, UK, demonstrating the products, applications and developments of the future of micro-intelligence. The exhibition's four main themes will be mobility, daily life, work and communication. A conference will also take place in Manchester on 6 to 10 November.
'Energetic friends' is a collection of ten projects selected by the European Commission from a competition open to teams of young scientists aged between 12 and 18, supported by an adult, from Estonia, Latvia or Finland. Projects had to relate to energy. Finalists will present their work with the aid of multimedia resources in Tallinn, Estonia between 5 and 8 November.For further information, please consult the following web address: http://cordis.europa.eu/scienceweek(opens in new window)
Below are the contact details for the seven projects selected by the European Commission:
EuroPAWS:
E-mail: melanie.kitchener@ec.europa.eu
http://www.europaws.org(opens in new window)
Life in the Universe
E-mail: monica.de.pasquale@cern.chWebsite
http://www.lifeinuniverse.org(opens in new window)
Biotech Europe
E-mail: info_en@infoplanetproject.com
or
E-mail: 100715.331@compuserve.com
http://www.terra-eu.org(opens in new window)
Infoplanet
E-mail: a.picano@innova-eu.net
http://www.infoplanetproject.com(opens in new window)
PUSH 2001
E-mail: m.pazzagli@dfc.unifi.it
or
E-mail: campbellAK@cardiff.ac.uk
or
E-mail: peter.bergsten@medcellbiol.uu.se
http://www.poggio-imperiale.it/push2001/welcome.html(opens in new window)
http://www.darwincentre.com(opens in new window)
Small is beautiful
E-mail: micro-world@vdivde-it.de
http://www.micor-worlds.org(opens in new window)
Energetic Friends
E-mail: kertu@energiakeskus.ee
http://www.energeticfriends.org(opens in new window)
Journalists wishing to attend any of the events should contact:
Michel Claessens
Tel: +32-2-295 9971
E-mail: michel.claessens@ec.europa.eu
or
Melanie Kitchener
Tel: +32-2-295 0686
E-mail: Melanie.kitchener@ec.europa.eu
'The Union has reinforced and will still reinforce its support for the development of citizens' scientific and technological literacy. We believe this is an important issue,' said EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin. 'Today teaching has become too theoretical, perhaps as a result of a shortage of funds. Initiatives such as the European science week allow us to reintroduce the intuitive dimension into teaching science. They also reinforce dialogue and enable researchers to keep an eye on citizens' expectations,' he said.
EuroPaws, (European public awareness of science initiative) involves partners from Belgium, France and the UK and is seeking to raise public awareness of science through television through initiatives such as grants for TV drama scriptwriting, a festival of TV dramas and prizes for dramas based on factual science stories and fictional stories in which science or technology play a major role. An award ceremony will take place on 5 November in London followed by a project presentation in Brussels on 7 November.
Life in the Universe is a project inviting secondary school students in 23 European countries to present their conception of the universe: What does the 'big bang' theory mean: What forms of life could exist outside the solar system? What constitutes life? What do scientists know about the origins of the works and the worlds around us? Contributions range from the creation of a website to theatre. Two winners from each country will be selected to present their projects at CERN (the European laboratory for particle physics) from 8 to 11 November. Overall winners will receive an invitation to the launch of the Ariane rocket and a visit to the European southern observatory (ESO) in Chile.
A 45 minute documentary on plant biotechnology and a conference debate on the implications of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will be shown at four European science museums: Munich, Bristol, Brussels and Madrid during science week. Part of the 'Biotech Europe' project, the debate on 8 November will feature Mr Busquin.
'Infoplanet', a project involving partners from Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal will culminate in four educational exhibitions (Rome, Thessaloniki, Barcelona and Porto) presenting the latest developments in the field of renewable energy sources, particularly in the Mediterranean region. At each venue, secondary school pupils will be able to meet and debate with researchers and other experts from the field.
PUSH 2001 aims to take a close look at educational modules which permit an active approach to scientific concepts by giving students the opportunity to carry out experiments. Over three days, participants will talk with researchers and attend workshops, which will include dramatisations of science, looking at the work of da Vinci, Darwin and Linnaeus. The workshops will take place in Italy, England and Sweden, the home countries of these legendary scientists.
'Small is beautiful' is a European project aimed at illustrating how microsystems perform. Microsystems, or minute devices, are playing an increasingly important role in our society. Airbags in cars are controlled by Microsystems no bigger than a fingernail and electronic noses detect whether or not food is fresh. During science week, the project participants from the UK will present an exhibition in Manchester, UK, demonstrating the products, applications and developments of the future of micro-intelligence. The exhibition's four main themes will be mobility, daily life, work and communication. A conference will also take place in Manchester on 6 to 10 November.
'Energetic friends' is a collection of ten projects selected by the European Commission from a competition open to teams of young scientists aged between 12 and 18, supported by an adult, from Estonia, Latvia or Finland. Projects had to relate to energy. Finalists will present their work with the aid of multimedia resources in Tallinn, Estonia between 5 and 8 November.For further information, please consult the following web address: http://cordis.europa.eu/scienceweek(opens in new window)
Below are the contact details for the seven projects selected by the European Commission:
EuroPAWS:
E-mail: melanie.kitchener@ec.europa.eu
http://www.europaws.org(opens in new window)
Life in the Universe
E-mail: monica.de.pasquale@cern.chWebsite
http://www.lifeinuniverse.org(opens in new window)
Biotech Europe
E-mail: info_en@infoplanetproject.com
or
E-mail: 100715.331@compuserve.com
http://www.terra-eu.org(opens in new window)
Infoplanet
E-mail: a.picano@innova-eu.net
http://www.infoplanetproject.com(opens in new window)
PUSH 2001
E-mail: m.pazzagli@dfc.unifi.it
or
E-mail: campbellAK@cardiff.ac.uk
or
E-mail: peter.bergsten@medcellbiol.uu.se
http://www.poggio-imperiale.it/push2001/welcome.html(opens in new window)
http://www.darwincentre.com(opens in new window)
Small is beautiful
E-mail: micro-world@vdivde-it.de
http://www.micor-worlds.org(opens in new window)
Energetic Friends
E-mail: kertu@energiakeskus.ee
http://www.energeticfriends.org(opens in new window)
Journalists wishing to attend any of the events should contact:
Michel Claessens
Tel: +32-2-295 9971
E-mail: michel.claessens@ec.europa.eu
or
Melanie Kitchener
Tel: +32-2-295 0686
E-mail: Melanie.kitchener@ec.europa.eu