Periodic Reporting for period 2 - U-Night (U*Night - The UNITA Researchers' Night)
Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2024-02-29
The first European Researchers’ Night organized by the UNITA Consortium was held on September
30th 2022 and took place at the same time in the main cities of the Consortium (Turin, Covilha, Timisoara, Pau, Chambery) as well as in the rural, semi-rural, and mountain areas. It was preceded
by pre-events and will be followed by post-events in most of the cities of the Alliance. U*Night focused on offering citizens an immersive experience in the research world by organizing scientific cafés and talks, exhibitions, showing prototypes and experiments, concerts, performances, and much more. The aims were: to engage researchers in dialogue with societal actors by showing the impact of research (or its potential) on our daily life; to enhance the potential of citizens' proximity
to science and make it visible showing the concrete benefits that higher participation of people to the research process can bring; to enhance the dialogue between citizens, policymakers and scientists, by organizing events to identify solutions on specific challenges connected to the territories.
30th 2022 and took place at the same time in the main cities of the Consortium (Turin, Covilha, Timisoara, Pau, Chambery) as well as in the rural, semi-rural, and mountain areas. It was preceded
by pre-events and will be followed by post-events in most of the cities of the Alliance. U*Night focused on offering citizens an immersive experience in the research world by organizing scientific cafés and talks, exhibitions, showing prototypes and experiments, concerts, performances, and much more. The aims were: to engage researchers in dialogue with societal actors by showing the impact of research (or its potential) on our daily life; to enhance the potential of citizens' proximity
to science and make it visible showing the concrete benefits that higher participation of people to the research process can bring; to enhance the dialogue between citizens, policymakers and scientists, by organizing events to identify solutions on specific challenges connected to the territories.
U*Night was held on September 30th, and in Turin it was extended over October 1st as well. The Universities freely decided to organize live or online events and develop a calendar of pre-events the weeks before the Night and/or to continue activities after September 30. The 5 Missions identified by Horizon Europe were used as 5 thematic clusters to organize the activities (1. Adaptation to climate change including societal transformation 2. Cancer 3. Climate-neutral and smart cities 4. Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters 5. Soil health and food). On top of that, the 3 research pillars of the Alliance (Circular Economy, Renewable Energy, and Cultural Heritage) were used as thematic clusters to strengthen the connection with UNITA. The focus on multilingualism and intercomprehension was also prominent and was the main subject of an activity tailored for schools and carried out on September 30 morning by UNITA members. The events were held in the local languages, and the activities were spread online on U*Night media profiles in English and local languages. The main shared activity proposed was the Research Marathon, carried out by the Universities of Turin, Timisoara, Covilha. The format is a sort of ted talk led by a host capable of making the show lively and keeping the rhythm. Every researcher had 15 minutes to talk about her/his own research starting from fake news and false myths to disrupt them. The Marathon was live streamed on each university’s channel.
Other activities proposed by the Consortium were conferences, exhibitions, workshops, games, and experiments. In Turin laboratories were set up where citizens could experience the researcher’s activities by doing hands-on experiments and testing prototypes. Universidade Beira Interior proposed a Walk with researchers around the historic center of Covilha. Conferences and science cafès were organized in collaboration with other UNITA projects such as RE-UNITA: one example can be represented by the online event “Gender imbalances in European Universities", promoted by Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour. The participant in the activities were citizens, students ranging from primary schools to universities, families, and retirees.
Other activities proposed by the Consortium were conferences, exhibitions, workshops, games, and experiments. In Turin laboratories were set up where citizens could experience the researcher’s activities by doing hands-on experiments and testing prototypes. Universidade Beira Interior proposed a Walk with researchers around the historic center of Covilha. Conferences and science cafès were organized in collaboration with other UNITA projects such as RE-UNITA: one example can be represented by the online event “Gender imbalances in European Universities", promoted by Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour. The participant in the activities were citizens, students ranging from primary schools to universities, families, and retirees.
The key of U*Night was inclusiveness. The project was designed to expand the outreach action of the European Researchers’ Night and maximize its impact, bringing the event to new cities and to rural, semi-rural, and mountain areas by involving UNITA Alliance. The activities were conceived to increase the public recognition of Research and Development (R&D) in terms of its impact on citizens and communities’ daily lives. The result of the project was a panel of activities that enhanced the direct participation of people in the research process through a transnational citizen science project that aims to highlight the contribution that citizens can bring to science and the benefits they can get in terms of personal development. The project promoted the role of citizens as key stakeholders in the debate on societal challenges and will activate constructive interaction with policymakers and scientists. Furthermore, another result was the spreading and promotion of the UNITA Alliance among citizens of the cities involved.