Discover yesterday’s video summary, looking back on the first of three main conference days.
Newcomers started early with a networking breakfast, before joining all other attendees at the Opening event, whose speakers included Kim Gladstone Herlev, Executive Director of Experimentarium; Herbert Münder, President of Ecsite and General Manager, Universum Bremen; and Catherine Franche, Ecsite Executive Director.
In his speech, Herbert Münder invited European science engagement organisations to sign an open letter addressed to EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation Carlos Moedas, putting forward recommendations for the involvement of citizens in the upcoming Horizon Europe funding framework. A movie celebrating Ecsite’s 30th anniversary was also unveiled.
The winners of the 2019 Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards were revealed at the same event. Universcience (Paris, France) got a Special mention for for taking a timely stance to counteract the spreading of misinformation with the “Data Science vs. Fake News” project, which sets a brave example for the science engagement field. The non-profit organisation SciCo (Athens, Greece) won in the ‘Sustainable Success’ category for "STEMpowering Youth", a STEM educational programme which aims to empower young students of remote Greek areas by training educators and encouraging students to become innovators and engage with local social and environmental challenges. Finally, Barbara Streicher (Executive Manager at Science Center Netzwerk, Vienna Austria) won the Beacon of the Year Award for personal embodiment of our network’s values.
The conference’s Business Bistro opened its doors for the morning coffee break. For the rest of the day, participants were able to pick and choose between 14 parallel session strands. Topics included climate change communication, scientific heritage collections, futures thinking, art-science collaborations and many more.
In the evening everyone re-convened for an unusual Gala Dinner & Show, held at the Wallmans Circus, a landmark of Copenhagen cultural life. Thanks to @JuanLGonzalo on Twitter for the Gala Dinner picture included in the video.
Today's expected highlights: science writer, artist and curator Margaret Wertheim’s speech at 10.30 (if you are following us remotely, tune into @Ecsite on Twitter and watch the speech live), more than 50 parallel sessions, several local tours, the famous Business Bistro Happy Hour and an evening of science entertainment with the Nocturne at Experimentarium. And for Ecsite members only: Breakfast with the Ecsite Board and the 2019 Annual General Meeting.
Follow the #Ecsite2019 feed on Twitter and Instagram, connect on Facebook, browse through pictures on Flickr… and stay tuned for today’s video summary released tomorrow morning.