SCICAFE

SciCafe: The Science Cafes Network

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The SciCafe project proposes the notion of networking, exchange of best practices, and co-operation between science cafes (SC) in different cities and regions of Europe, both in their physical vicinities and in virtual space, as a vehicle for the promotion of the public understanding of science and of the public debate on scientific issues, focusing specifically on the promotion of a scientific culture at the local level. The SciCafe proposes an innovative approach that crosscuts the boundaries between the already existing initiatives, focusing both on the improvement of organisers’ knowledge on how to develop and maintain a SC and on increasing the participants intrinsic motivation to learn and understand about scientific issues, which could potentially change their attitude towards science and encourage them to follow scientific careers in the years to come. It offers tools and activities combining physical presence of its members in the existing SC, and virtual presence of members from across Europe and beyond, ensuring everyone’s active participation, irrespectively of their physical location and possible disadvantage (rural areas’ citizens). In this hybrid world of SC, the network will consist of actors from the cities who are involved in science/culture/entertainment/education/local development/citizens' participation/media, such as local authorities, universities/research centres, science communication structures, schools, libraries, local civil society organisations, enterprises based on science and technology. Today’s participant to a SC has to find it more and more attractive and not static to what it was when these initiatives were begun so such places should follow the new trends and the new technological achievements. The project will focus on: (i) To create a network of SC that will guide the next generation of SCs, (ii) To implement a series of state of the art technologies (virtual presence, social tagging) through a series of innovative scenarios.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Science cafes (SCs) provide an online forum for discussing science. An EU programme was set up to look after them.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The EU-funded project 'The science cafes network' (SCICAFE) created a network of online SCs in various cities across Europe and abroad. These took the form of sophisticated chat rooms for the discussion of science.

Involving a consortium of 12 diverse partners from 8 EU states, the project ran from 2009 to 2012. It coordinated networking among the various SCs and individual science communication practitioners. This was intended to support the evolution of SCs by fostering cooperation and information exchange about experiences and best practices.

SCICAFE listed 12 results against its 7 objectives. It developed an understanding of SC operations across Europe, establishing a set of best practices and forming a How-To guide for establishing new SCs. The project also developed innovative scenarios on organising different types of SCs.

Project partners conducted 40 validation workshops in 9 countries. They also organised 23 training workshops in six European and two African countries, which exceeded the project's initial target of four such workshops.

As part of this action, SCICAFE familiarised SC organisers with information and communication technologies (ICT) tools that facilitate the operation of SCs. These included the portal release of 3-D tools simulating a real cafe environment, employing cross-media tools that bridge the 'second life' online environment and reality. Other tools allowed for improvements such as larger video uploads plus email and SMS tools.

SCICAFE expanded its list of cafes in Africa, eastern Europe and the United States. The project, overall, included 93 junior cafes, intended for young people, listed as an important and difficult achievement given initial resistance to the concept from schools.

The project's dissemination achievements include the development of relevant materials, including 70 posters, 1 000 leaflets, 2 newsletters and 50 copies of the guidelines for creating new SCs. These activities also resulted in 6 conferences/workshops and 10 publications, the most important of which was the e-book 'Sipping Science with a Science Cafe'. This contains the project's legacy, including culturally relevant information, and will be critical to those wishing to start new SCs in the future.