What is a Science Festival?
A science festival is a festival that showcases science and technology with the same freshness and flair that would be expected from an arts or music festival. The core content is of science and technology, but the style comes from the world of the arts.
The modern concept of a science festival comes from the city of Edinburgh in 1989 when it was stimulated to rebrand itself as a city of science, building on the success of a series of big urban developments.
Science Festivals in UK, Ireland and beyond
Hundreds of large-scale, community-wide science festivals take place every year all over the globe.
Like arts festivals, the dozens of UK science festivals range in size and scope, with the largest taking place in Edinburgh with a budget of £1.8m. These science festivals are generally funded by local authorities, universities and central Government. The Scottish Government spearhead the promotion of science festivals, with science engagement funding Map of Science Festivals in UK and Ireland provided by the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser to 19 different science festivals.
Building on the success of Dublin City of Science in 2012, Dublin now hosts an annual science based “Festival of Curiosity” to rival international festivals such as New York and Cheltenham. This is funded primarily by Dublin City Council and Science Foundation Ireland.
Science Festivals have evolved all over Europe, from Slovenia to Sweden, from Portugal to Poland, from Israel to Iceland - and more are on the way. In response to this increase, the European Science Events Association (EUSEA) was established as a platform on science communication and the development of festivals. Northern Ireland is now one of the last areas in Europe that does not have a science festival.
The World Science Festival was launched in America in 2008 and has now become the largest event of its kind. The subsequent surge of science festivals resulted in the establishment of the Science Festival Alliance in 2009.
Why we need a Science Festival
Northern Ireland has a vibrant public festival scene. However, despite the range of local activity and depth of home grown scientific talent, there has never been a large scale festival celebrating the wonders of science in Northern Ireland. Festivals bring science education into surprising places in unexpected ways so they reach a broad and diverse audience. STEM professionals also gain high-profile exposure.
1 Science festivals also make a strong statement about a region’s leading role in science and technology, the economic drivers of the 21st century. The need to manage STEM sector attractiveness is also a key priority action identified in the “Success Through STEM - One Year on report” produced by DEL. This report states:
“There is a clear need to find ways to engage with parents and young people to highlight the opportunities that are available in STEM throughout NI. At present there are a number of organisations taking forward STEM sector attractiveness. A key element of the Strategy is the need to link these organisations together.”
This need to link STEM events together is one of the key drivers behind the establishment of the NI Science Festival. We believe that through providing a shared platform of promotion, engagement and development of events, the NI Science Festival can go a long way in producing a culture of STEM in wider society.
Who is behind the Festival
The NI Science Festival is a unique collaboration of major science outreach organisations in Northern Ireland. Although it is a separate charitable company with its own constitution and staff, key organisations such as W5, the NI Science Park, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the University of Ulster, Queens University, the Open University, Colleges NI, Sentinus and the Institute of Engineering and Technology are all represented on the Board of Directors.
Festival Objectives
Working in partnership with local universities, STEM providers, arts organisations, private sector companies and public sector bodies, the Festival will be initially held throughout venues around the Belfast area, and to be packaged and promoted as a single event. These events will take place in the final two weeks of February 2015.
Given that the Festival is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, the main focus of the organisation will be building a Festival and brand that will capture the imagination of audiences and allow us to build on this success in subsequent years. In its inaugural year the Festival will:
• Design a programme that will appeal to the widest audience, in terms of age and geographical spread, combining 'grass roots' programming with a number of high calibre events • Reach a minimum audience of 10,000 people through at least 50 events; • Enhance the festival’s reputation by ensuring that it meets the needs of local audiences • Create a coherent identity and brand; • Further develop links with the scientific, artistic and business communities.
In the long term, the festival aims to bring science to the wider public in a way that will have a lasting positive effect throughout the country by interweaving an awareness of science into our society. Given that families, peers and societal influences exert a considerable influence on students’ aspirations, the Festival will aim to raise the level of science capital in society by targeting a wide spectrum of society.
2 Through the creation and promotion of satellite events throughout the rest of the year, the Festival will make a significant impact beyond the main festival dates. Through applying to various trusts, foundations and science engagement grants, the Festival aims to build a programme of outreach activities targeting areas of high deprivation.
The Festival also aims to support and promote the development and outreach activities for local STEM providers and educators. Through building up a core audience and mailing list with the Festival, the organisation can support and promote the various STEM based events taking place throughout the rest of the year.
The Festival also aims to increase the level of engagement with society and science through the development of other initiatives throughout the year. One such example which will be developed is a Cafe Scientifique, a successful model which provides a forum for the discussion of current work and interesting scientific issues in an informal and accessible environment.
Style, scope and size of the Festival
Like arts or music festivals, science festivals range in style, content, size and structure. The NI Science Festival aims to provide a similar model to successful festivals such as Edinburgh, Brighton, Cheltenham and Dublin, through encouraging people of all ages and backgrounds to discover the wonders of science.
With events during the day for a younger audience, in the evenings for an older crowd and the weekends catering to families, the festival will aim to reach a broad spectrum of society. These events will range in price, with most events available for free and some events ticketed.
The Festival will also have a strong cross over with the arts, utilising the creative talents of the vibrant arts sector to help communicate science in exciting ways. Two experienced event managers from the arts sector have been recruited to the board to help strengthen this mix.
Next steps
With charity registration complete and all the structures in place, we are beginning the process of pulling together the programme and continuing to fundraise. Both the Department of Employment and Learning and Belfast City Council have provided funding for programming whilst additional funding is being sought through grant applications and sponsorship.
The festival is continuing to build key strategic partnerships and build its programme of activity. The programme of over 50 events will be finalised in December 2014 in advance of the printed programme and launch event in January 2015.
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