We set up a country-wide awareness campaign implemented through diverse media channels, with pre-event promotion, broad coverage during the Night, and follow-up media events. We focused on the public at large but placed a well targeted emphasis on specific segments, channeling the message that “science is everywhere” and “adapting humanity to climate change”. We reached a number of 3 725 000 through our media activities, and of 1 120 314 through social media channels of the project and partners. We updated and maintained the main project website, developed the social media accounts and Facebook events for all project beneficiaries, designed and branded guidelines for all online presence - web banners and frames; created logo and promotional video of the project; co-events and social sharing campaign; online streamed activities in social media and ERN Centralized programs of all partners local activities, distributed printed and digital media in the public transport, metro and in central places in the country.
Project beneficiaries also conceived, produced, disseminated and displayed locally-realized promotional material.
Our hybrid, multidisciplinary, hands-on programmes of science events all over Bulgaria in 2022 and 2023 provoked the public engagement with inspiring talks, spectacular shows and hands-on experiments, a range of sci-art collaborations, researchers at schools activities, and competitions. We demonstrated irrevocably how relevant, exciting and important the job of researchers is, and encouraged young Bulgarians and people with special needs to choose STEAM careers.
Clear communication about the Activities during the Night was sent out – content, central topics, structure. Project partners (14) were encouraged to attract and work with Associate Partners (officially 16). Thus a wide national network of interested parties has been created. Instructions on the choice of locations, venues and volume of programmes were discussed. Changes to the initially planned predominantly online events were agreed. We then set up several steps in collecting and processing the data. As a result, we collated and produced in time the programmes from all participants, shared on the SEARCH website.
In summary, during the Nights our engagement for on-site/live events and engagement numbers exceeded the plans. We reached 240+ individual sessions, 260+ hands-on activities, 2 international live links, country-wide coverage in 22 towns/cities, 55 individual venues, 2 x 3 hours national TV broadcast coverage.
Engagement amounted to 54,536+ – onsite and live online during the Nights plus 4386 schoolchildren visited by researchers, exceeding the plan by 80%.
The SEARCH Researchers at Schools activity was implemented by four partners responsible for coordination and organizing school visits in their particular region.
During the project lifecycle, 112 school visits in 98 selected schools were performed by 30 researchers, where 4386 schoolchildren participated in the classes. All school visits were carried as live events and were performed onsite.
The Search Academy attracted 212 teachers and provided online resources and in person workshops to teachers from primary, secondary and language schools all over the country.
Both years, two national competitions were launched addressed to students with creative thinking, interest in science and concern for the environment. 31 candidates applied, the winners were announced and awarded during the Opening ceremonies at the official ERN locations.
The impact analysis evaluated public perceptions towards science and researchers, the importance of science in daily life through online questionnaires conducted before, during, and immediately after the event.
Main target was the young audience and their inclination to participate in research, as a career or through citizen science projects. During the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Night, we reached 929 responders, whose assessment of the Night's impact was very high in both years, scoring above 4.5 out of 5 across four indicators: information campaign and access to content, overall quality of events, thematic selection, and presenters' performance.
