Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MACARONIGHT IV (MACARONIGHT 2022 - 2023: The Researchers' Night of the Macaronesia)
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-04-01 bis 2024-03-31
The EU Macaronesian territory is a biogeographical region contains three main Atlantic Oceanic archipelagos: the Azores, Madeira, Canaries. The islands exhibit common geographical traits and share a rich cultural heritage and are part of the European Outermost Regions. The population totals approximately 3 million inhabitants, equivalent to a small EU country and yet, as with many Outermost Regions,citizens feel disconnected from mainland Europe. Since its first edition in 2018, MacaroNight has aimed to become a beacon of scientific outreach in the archipelagos highlighting the science, research, and innovation of Macaronesian and European researchers, showcasing their contributions and how these advancements resonate beyond the academic sphere, influencing the socio-economic landscape of the islands and the day-to-day of the citizens.
MACARONIGHT IV maintained its spirit, further widening the public awareness towards science, research, and innovation. The main theme for this recently past edition has been the Horizon Europe missions, touching on all of them but highlighting those of special relevance to the research being developed in the individual islands, such as “Restore our Ocean and Waters” and “Adaptation to Climate Change”. By increasing visibility of the work of scientists from the region within the priorities set by the EU, MACARONIGHT hopes to have long lasting multi-faceted beneficial impacts that could extend beyond the immediate objectives of the project, MacaroNight aspires to ignite curiosity and inspire the next generation of scientists and innovators, but also create a two-way conversation with other European Researchers’ Nights seeking to increase the visibility and international recognition of the region's scientific community, connecting its researchers not only with the public but with each other and with far-reaching institutions and projects.
During these past few years, MacaroNight has become more than just an event in the last six years; it is now an expected part of the year for schools and families, steadily creating a science-informed society where research and innovation are not just understood but celebrated, presenting an opportunity for researchers to step out of their labs and into the public eye, demystifying their work and connecting with the community on a personal level, and expecting to encourage Macaronesian citizens -especially the young population- to take part in the research being developed in the region.
MACARONIGHT IV maintained its spirit, further widening the public awareness towards science, research, and innovation. The main theme for this recently past edition has been the Horizon Europe missions, touching on all of them but highlighting those of special relevance to the research being developed in the individual islands, such as “Restore our Ocean and Waters” and “Adaptation to Climate Change”. By increasing visibility of the work of scientists from the region within the priorities set by the EU, MACARONIGHT hopes to have long lasting multi-faceted beneficial impacts that could extend beyond the immediate objectives of the project, MacaroNight aspires to ignite curiosity and inspire the next generation of scientists and innovators, but also create a two-way conversation with other European Researchers’ Nights seeking to increase the visibility and international recognition of the region's scientific community, connecting its researchers not only with the public but with each other and with far-reaching institutions and projects.
During these past few years, MacaroNight has become more than just an event in the last six years; it is now an expected part of the year for schools and families, steadily creating a science-informed society where research and innovation are not just understood but celebrated, presenting an opportunity for researchers to step out of their labs and into the public eye, demystifying their work and connecting with the community on a personal level, and expecting to encourage Macaronesian citizens -especially the young population- to take part in the research being developed in the region.
The Macaronight consortium prides itself in the multifaceted contributions of the project, as not only the project consistently reaches its target audiences in all its editions, but also, less tangible results can be felt from the recurrent contact with the scientific ecosystem of the islands, such as the consistent and ever-growing researcher engagement; the increasing of the stakeholders contributions -proving the event is also relevant to Government and private institutions, reaching further than just academics-; the number of new proposals and initiatives born from contacts made through Macaronight; the enthusiastic response from teachers; and the inclusion of rural and remote regions are some of the achievements that make the project unique and long-lasting.
As for quantifiable results, Macaronight IV has also excelled in:
- Promoting the work of researchers in 18 islands spanning three archipelagos and two countries.
- Reaching over 50.000 participants during the Researchers Nights of the Macaronesia in 2022 and 2023.
- Making over 500.000 people in two countries aware of the European Researchers' Night aims and events.
- Engaging over 650 researchers.
-Organising over 100 activities in 52 schools reaching over 8.500 students.
-Developing and performing almost 300 unique activities including hands-on experiments, guided tours, games, expositions, etc.
- Reaching 41% of participants who were made aware of European Researchers’ Night for the first time.
- Over 96% of total participants recommend participating in Macaronight and would visit next year.
As for quantifiable results, Macaronight IV has also excelled in:
- Promoting the work of researchers in 18 islands spanning three archipelagos and two countries.
- Reaching over 50.000 participants during the Researchers Nights of the Macaronesia in 2022 and 2023.
- Making over 500.000 people in two countries aware of the European Researchers' Night aims and events.
- Engaging over 650 researchers.
-Organising over 100 activities in 52 schools reaching over 8.500 students.
-Developing and performing almost 300 unique activities including hands-on experiments, guided tours, games, expositions, etc.
- Reaching 41% of participants who were made aware of European Researchers’ Night for the first time.
- Over 96% of total participants recommend participating in Macaronight and would visit next year.
Potentially, our work in Macaronight could encourage young adults in the Macaronesian region to study STEM-related careers, improving competitiveness and research and development potential. Macaronight has undoubtedly highlighted the work researchers do for the islands and the many projects aimed at improving the quality of life and the future of the region.
Thanks to the high value contributions from participants and researchers collected through WP7 and WP8, a list of key lessons learned and suggestions for improvement can be elaborated. This includes, among other aspects, the crucial importance of selecting activities and designing the programme in a way that allows for accessible in-person participation, interaction among participants and between participants and researchers, and hands-on experiments. Participants highly value the opportunity to experiment and learn from scientific developments that have direct connections with their daily lives. For this, it is relevant that future editions of Macaronight continue to connect regional and local expertise with participants of different age groups and sociodemographic backgrounds, making science accessible and open to the broader society in the Outermost regions. Related to this, Macaronight IV experience points at the need to reconfigure the EU Corner, finding ways to connect the archipelagos with the European continent and research.
Furthermore, impact assessment results highlight the important role of researchers for society and young people in particular as role models. For this, future Macaronights will continue to improve gender balance and ensure a diverse representativity across age, geographic, sociodemographic, and professional backgrounds. As the majority of responses to the different questionnaires for participants emphasised, there is great consensus on the belief that research/ers contribute to improving the competitiveness of a country or region. They are also assumed to help resolve environmental and social problems, and considered to care about people’s needs when conducting their research. In sum, these trends highlight that further editions of Macaronight should continue to connect research and scientific developments with social and environmental aspects that are relevant for the society.
Lastly, another key aspect learned from this and past editions of conducting impact assessment before, during, and after the Night, is the fact that partnerships with local and regional stakeholders are crucial for ensuring turnover as well as effective data collection. For this, further work should go in the line of collaborating with local volunteers, increasing the pole of such group of important local actors by framing Macaronight as a learning opportunity, especially for students and the broader youth community. Finally, further strategies should be developed to ensure attractive incentives are offered to participants who decide to voluntarily contribute to improving the project by providing their valuable feedback and sharing their experiences through the designated data collection methods for impact assessment.
Thanks to the high value contributions from participants and researchers collected through WP7 and WP8, a list of key lessons learned and suggestions for improvement can be elaborated. This includes, among other aspects, the crucial importance of selecting activities and designing the programme in a way that allows for accessible in-person participation, interaction among participants and between participants and researchers, and hands-on experiments. Participants highly value the opportunity to experiment and learn from scientific developments that have direct connections with their daily lives. For this, it is relevant that future editions of Macaronight continue to connect regional and local expertise with participants of different age groups and sociodemographic backgrounds, making science accessible and open to the broader society in the Outermost regions. Related to this, Macaronight IV experience points at the need to reconfigure the EU Corner, finding ways to connect the archipelagos with the European continent and research.
Furthermore, impact assessment results highlight the important role of researchers for society and young people in particular as role models. For this, future Macaronights will continue to improve gender balance and ensure a diverse representativity across age, geographic, sociodemographic, and professional backgrounds. As the majority of responses to the different questionnaires for participants emphasised, there is great consensus on the belief that research/ers contribute to improving the competitiveness of a country or region. They are also assumed to help resolve environmental and social problems, and considered to care about people’s needs when conducting their research. In sum, these trends highlight that further editions of Macaronight should continue to connect research and scientific developments with social and environmental aspects that are relevant for the society.
Lastly, another key aspect learned from this and past editions of conducting impact assessment before, during, and after the Night, is the fact that partnerships with local and regional stakeholders are crucial for ensuring turnover as well as effective data collection. For this, further work should go in the line of collaborating with local volunteers, increasing the pole of such group of important local actors by framing Macaronight as a learning opportunity, especially for students and the broader youth community. Finally, further strategies should be developed to ensure attractive incentives are offered to participants who decide to voluntarily contribute to improving the project by providing their valuable feedback and sharing their experiences through the designated data collection methods for impact assessment.