STREETS takes place in Campania and southern Lazio, where there is the highest presence of young people in Italy and among the highest one in Europe. But, for the “brain drain” these areas are also characterized by educational and cultural poverty. Therefore, the proposal of our activities is to contribute to the awareness of citizens of different age, showing that 'good science' can be done in these regions.
In recent years there has been a significant increase in tourism activities, and we would like to follow this development also in the cultural field, showing the social impact on the territory of the scientific and technological activities carried out locally.
The acronym represents the awareness of the researchers involved that roads, in their universal meaning of tools for spreading culture, represent the main instrument of development. Therefore, special attention was paid for reaching outskirts, such as small mountain villages and small islands, but also for reaching poor realities, such as prisons and schools in degraded areas.
The historical and cultural roads are the backbone that supports the various elements of our project that involves local universities, research centers, cultural and creative enterprises, places of culture, municipalities, institutions, associations and the productive world. The cities and villages, crossed by these roads or where they intersect, are the places of STREETS. The project, in fact, is based on the belief that science, technology, research have a strong impact on our society, in all its branches and declinations. The roads therefore represent the lines that connect history and economy, space and time.
The two main objectives the project are:
• to allow the scientists to interact directly with the public, tell their own stories, show who they are and what is their role in society, providing them the right tools to do so;
• to show the role of the researcher for the society and economy, as well as the impact of researchers’ work on citizens’ daily lives;
The activities of the project will combine education with entertainment (edutainment) in various forms, such as exhibitions, hands-on experiments, science shows, simulations, debates, games, competitions, quizzes to encourage formal and informal science education with the aim of improving the scientific knowledge base of the public.
Given so, the impacts that we intend to achieve are:
• Enhance engagement with citizens on R&I;
• Increase awareness among the general public of the importance and benefits of R&I and its concrete impact on citizens’ daily life;
• Contribute to the diffusion and the promotion of excellence research projects across Europe;
• Raise the interest of young people in science and research careers.
Finally, in periods of conflict such as these, mitigating ""ignorance"" can help strengthen a spirit of peace between cultures.
