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A conversation about online co-creation, remote collaboration, and the future of science festivals

 

We are very excited to be opening up our virtual doors again to you all! The EUSEA Hot Pot is back on the boil, but what ingredients are we throwing in this time? Join us from 11:00 to 13:00 (CET) on April 23 for a chat about online co-creation, remote collaboration, and the future of science festivals.  

Some flavours complement each other famously; lemon and lime, sage and onion, salt and vinegar, the same can be said for event planning. For a long time, we all had a pretty good idea of what types of activities worked well together, and how we would approach our science events. Even when we were a little more adventurous, we had a wealth of previous experience which we could build upon. However, over the past 12 months, a lot of us have found that we could not rely on old recipes, the COVID 19 pandemic has meant that most of our science communication and engagement events have had to change. We needed to add something new to the mix. 

Those of us organising science festivals in 2020, know this challenge better than most. Used to curating large scale in-person events, now having to redirect their efforts online. Trying to do hands-on…. Hands off.  These events are usually fascinating times where institutes and creatives can collaborate in-person to share science in a new and exciting way, but this time a new different approach was required. 

So on April 23rd, we are bringing to the table three Science Festivals organisers from across Europe; Matt Allen from Cardiff Science Festival, Christine Brummer from Berlin Science Week, and Alessandra Drioli from ‘Futuro Remoto’, a science festival organised by Città della Scienza in Naples. They will share their stories of co-creating with collaborators remotely and bringing new and innovative science engagement experience to an online platform. 

 The COVID pandemic may have made face to face meeting impossible, but the move to online platforms may have been a blessing in disguise. A way of opening up a whole new world of potential collaborators. A chance to add some different flavours to the mix. Some of them may not work, but some did, in surprising and exciting ways. And we want you to join in the conversation, to talk about your experiences in co-creating online content, and to hear how your approach to collaboration has changed since the pandemic began, and how that will impact the science festivals of the future.

Right now we have a rare chance to experiment, to reach out and try something new, with people you might not have thought of collaborating with in the past. The brain craves novelty, now more than ever. So if you are looking for some ideas on how to spice up your next event, sign up for the hotpot by clicking here (just remember to bring a little something to add to the mix), and if that whets your appetite; check out the EUSEA Science Engagement platform, where we share ideas and resources about how to make your science outreach events a little more special. You might discover something surprisingly good. Like chocolate and avocado. 

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