Informal, two-way science communication: now and in the future
4th International meeting for Café Scientifique/Science Café Organizers, 21-22 August
Last weekend there was a European Science Café conference in Copenhagen, organised by Gert Balling and Kristian Nielsen. Although only 16 people were present the conference was interesting, thoughtful and friendly. Here are some of the main points raised.
At the beginning of the conference there were brief reports from all of those present. In Sweden Science Cafes have been running for some time and one of the most unusual projects was ‘Street Science’, where a stall is set up in a shopping centre or on the street and experiments are done which involve passers-by. One of these is radiation measurement, where you can measure radiation from buildings, the sky or your mobile phone – and people were very interested in that. Another one is to come out in the evening with a telescope and let people see the moon and planets – also very popular. Practical involvement with the public in the street sounds like a very good idea. In the UK many Cafes are starting now in smaller towns, and in Bristol an experimental Café is to be started in a poor area of the city to see whether a different audience can be attracted.
Michael Arvantis, from Athens, gave an account of the well-funded European Union Grant to develop a high-powered website which could provide information about Cafes worldwide, with blogs, videos, social tagging and networking. Also there is a plan to run virtual Cafes on Second Life. In the real world there is also money to encourage Cafes in Poland, Hungary and Eastern Europe as well as to co-ordinate scientific institutions in particular areas of Italy, Greece and Finland. Michael’s point was that if Cafes are seen to be successful by the EU they will be supported by Science and Society Grants, and perhaps CafeSci in schools might be the next application for a Grant.
Finally on day one there was a report on how Cafes are developing in Africa. In Kenya, which has a Wellcome Trust Grant, Cafes in Nairobi are hoping to expand to Mombassa on the coast, also start in schools, and integrate with the government. In Uganda another Wellcome Trust Grant pays for an organiser to start Cafes in schools and help with some adult Cafes. The schools cafes are highly successful, sometimes attracting around 200 pupils, and they are spreading well beyond the capital, Kampala. In Entebbe, the Café there has started Cafes in local languages in ‘Malwa’ joints where a local brew is drunk. They talk about direct experience to do with HIV, malaria, water purification and agricultural improvements. At present there is no grant for this group, and they are financed by donations from a few Cafes in the UK, and one idea is to ‘twin’ Cafes from the developed world to the undeveloped world to provide some funding.
On Day two, as well as a practical session on ‘What Makes a Good Discussion?’, there were two more fundamental topics. One was about funding for Cafes – from charities, local universities, commercial companies, government departments, etc., Does this compromise the Café in any way? It became clear that while audience funding might be the ideal solution, many Cafes attract other types of funding without damaging their independence. However sometimes funding by institutions like universities or science centres complicates any ability to donate money to underdeveloped countries because it has to go through the institutional bank account. But funding opportunities are an important source of both innovation and stability.Finally a discussion took place on what is the basic remit of the Cafes. Agreement centred round holding Cafes outside any academic context and there being a critical dialogue between the speaker(s) and the audience. Some people called this informal participation. Clearly Cafes are continuing to expand, and take a variety of forms, and one continuing problem is how to keep the Cafes in communication, so that we can learn from other’s experience and ideas. The next conference is likely to be in two years – but where? Who wants to be the host?
Duncan Dallas
Program
Friday 21 August
8.00-9.00 Breakfast and coffee at the hotel (organized walk or taxis to the venue)
9.30-12.00 Morning theme: Café Scientifiques/Science Cafés today (chair: Gert)
- Brief reports from organizers. Exchange of ideas and experiences
- EU project (Michael)
12.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.30 Afternoon theme 1: Other ideas on informal, two-way science communication (chair: Kristian)
15.30-16.00 Coffee
16.00-17.30 Afternoon theme 2: Science cafés and the developing world (chair: Duncan)
Evening program: Dinner and fun!
Saturday 22 August
8.00-9.00 Breakfast and coffee at the hotel (organized walk or taxis to the venue)
9.30-10.30 Morning theme 1: Cafe Scientifique / Science cafes as a tool (chair: Gert/Kristian and Cissi)
- What makes for good discussion?
- Using cafe sci methods in different contexts
10.30-11.00 Coffee
11.00-12.30 Morning theme 2: Finding funding: how to do it and will it help or hinder? (chair: Ginny)
12.30-14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.30 Networking event (in planning)
15.30-17.00 Sandwich and "see you later"
Practical information
Hotels (two-nights), conference costs, food, coffee, and local transport will be covered by the conference organizers.
Delegates will have to pay their travel expenses themselves.