2017 Awards: "Smart and simple" & "Sustainable success"
Two categories were introduced in 2017.
The Smart and Simple Award celebrates simple, innovative and creative solutions in science engagement. It recognises the power of smart ideas that prompt a “I wish I had thought of that one!” reaction from other professionals – this is why nominations for this category were put forward by peers.
The Sustainable Success Award celebrates long-lasting impact: projects that embody the values of science engagement, that are visionary and socially relevant. For this category, organisations put their own applications in.
Prize
Winners were announced at the Opening event of the 2017 Ecsite Annual Conference (Porto, Portugal), where they received a trophy and diploma. Their project was featured at the Ecsite booth in the conference’s Business Bistro.
One senior manager from each winning organisation was invited to the 2017 Ecsite Directors Forum (4-6 October 2017, Paris, France) where they shared their experience in a workshop run for their peers. Ecsite covered registration, travel and accommodation costs.
Moreover, the winners saw their projects showcased on the Ecsite website and will be interviewed in Ecsite’s Spokes magazine. The winning organisations were able to use the provided version of the Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards logo.
TRACES – Espace des Sciences Pierre-Gilles De Gennes, Paris (France) won for the Frugal Science exhibition, a smart, cost-effective project that proposes a new take on both exhibition making and tinkering.
Dialogue Social Enterprise, Hamburg (Germany) won for its Dialogue in the Dark exhibition concept, a long-standing success story with remarkable reach and an original and robust business model, true to our field's values of inclusion and diversity.
NOESIS - Thessaloniki Science Center & Technology Museum (Greece) got a Special mention for courageous leadership for welcoming children from the refugee camps of Thessaloniki and their families and offering them a scientific, educational, cultural and social programme.
I have spent my career in science-driven organisations from wildlife conservation to natural history museums. I am passionate about the power of engaging people with science and societal issues, now as Director of the Museum of London I am concerned with urbanism and the development of global cities and global citizens. I am a long-time advocate of the awards' idea, which I championed when I sat on the Ecsite Board in the name of the Natural History Museum.
Former Senior Vice President of Exhibition, American Museum of Natural History.
David Harvey Design, LLC
I am a planning and design consultant for museums, historic houses and architects and remain a consultant for the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), where I occupied several functions for 20 years including Senior Vice President. I am motivated by a passion for creating exhibitions that have both an emotional and intellectual impact--perhaps changing the way visitors see their world - while actively blurring the line between art and science. Before joining AMNH I was the designer of approximately one hundred exhibitions and permanent galleries as Senior Designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Professor of Technosciences, Materiality, & Digital Cultures
Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Vienna
I am a scholar of science and society. I have worked in the UK, US, Norway, and Denmark, where I was an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen. I am now based at the Department of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Vienna. My work includes the books Hackerspaces (2017, Polity) and Science Communication (with Maja Horst, 2016, Palgrave).
My professional experience lies at the intersection between art, science and technology. I have a strong interest in artistic uses of technologies and in science as part of culture. Prior to directing the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, I held several key appointments in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, for instance artistic director of Lighthouse in Brighton, guest curator of the Berlin-based Transmediale festival or webcasting curator for Tate Modern in London. I also have my own artistic practice, produced under the name r a d i o q u a l i a, a collaboration with Adam Hyde.