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Science centres across Europe bring VOICES outcomes to the public

After 300 hours of consultation in science centres and museums across 27 EU countries, the groundbreaking VOICES project is preparing to release its final reports. Six science centres are hosting events across Europe to give people a look at the outcomes of this European project in a local and national context. The VOICES EU-funded project is a year-long, Europe-wide consultation which has brought 1000 citizens together to explore the concept of waste as a resource. The results of the consultation are being used by the European Commission to shape Europe’s priorities on research into how urban waste is managed. It sets an innovative precedent for future consultations to be run by science centres and museums to inform government policy.

The public events began in Dublin with the Makers Faire, and Naples, Granada, Ljubljana, Grenoble and Lisbon are all holding their events in the coming weeks. In Naples, Città della Scienza builds on its work advocating better waste management in the Campania region. Parque de las Ciencias in Granada will hold a Makers Faire with a range of workshops. The House of Experiments takes to the streets of Ljubljana with its event, Wasteologies. CCSTI Grenoble focuses in on the issue of planned obsolescence with a range of talks and workshops. And finally in Lisbon, the Pavilion of Knowledge will host a Makers Faire, a conference on waste and a special exhibition documenting the VOICES experience.

VOICES’ final country reports and overall EU report will soon be made available online, drawing together the outcomes of the 100 consultations which were held by Ecsite members across Europe earlier this year. Meanwhile, the European Commission has been using these outcomes to define priorities for the upcoming Horizon 2020 work programme funding research and innovation on ‘Urban Waste’.

For more details on the public events, and for more information on the VOICES project, see the VOICES website: www.voicesforinnovation.eu

Calendar

  • Dublin, Ireland – July 27 Science Gallery, Trinity College http://www.makerfairedublin.com/
  • Naples, Italy – October 25 and November 15 Città della Scienza http://www.cittadellascienza.it/notizie/diamo-voce-ai-cittadini-sui-rifiuti-giornata-di-informazione-e-di-sensibilizzazione-sul-tema-dellambiente-e-dei-rifiuti-15-novembre/
  • Granada, Spain – November 16-17 Parque de las Ciencias http://www.parqueciencias.com/parqueciencias/
  • Ljubljana, Slovenia – November 22 Ustanova Hisa eksperimentov http://www.he.si/index.php?lang=si
  • Grenoble, France – November 22-23 CCSTI Grenoble – La Casemate http://www.ccsti-grenoble.org/
  • Lisbon, Portugal – November 23 Ciencia Viva Pavilion of Knowledge http://www.pavconhecimento.pt/voices/

Project

VOICES

VOICES was a ground-breaking consultation, using the opinions of people across the EU to shape the future of European research. 1,000 citizens participated in focus groups run by Ecsite members, expressing their hopes, fears, concerns and ideas on the theme of urban waste. The results of this consultation have directly informed policy, as they were fed into several research calls for the EU Horizon 2020 funding programme.