..........................................................DANISH MANIFESTO FOR A SCIENCE CAFE
| Front Page Events Who Are We? This menu item is active Contact [Danish] manifesto Science is evolving increasingly faster. It seems that each day brings with it a greater potential for changing the human environment at deeper and deeper levels. Therefore it has become crucial to have ongoing debates on the type of research and technology we want to develop, and on how to apply it. The objective of Science Café Copenhagen is to create a public forum for debate. We wish to disseminate and mediate information on scientific issues, as well as to discuss their impact in a broader societal context. Having said so, we do not believe that such communication can be effectively carried out through didactic lectures to a wider clientele of – already – interested people. The underpinning concept of the Science Café is that knowledge dissemination and mediation should reach a broad public, which involves reciprocal commitment. This is achieved through genuine face to face dialogues between experts and the lay public, in an unprejudiced and civilised tone. Science Cafés are democratic by nature and therefore are accessible to everybody. Consequently, there is no admission fee. The framework for these exchanges is non partisan and interdisciplinary. Science Cafés events are held at a café which provides an informal and intimate venue, thus stimulating spontaneous dialogue between experts and the audience in a relaxed atmosphere. Expert panels are typically composed of representatives of the natural and social sciences, humanities, art, and culture. A successful Science Café discussion contributes to bridging science and society. On the one hand, the Science Café brings knowledge of science to the fields of art and culture. On the other hand, the Science Café contributes to making societal, cultural, and artistic issues more integrated into scientific practice. The tangible information output from the science cafés is of a democratic nature and is accessible to everybody. There is consequently no admittance fee to any science café sessions. Gert Balling & Emmanuelle Schuler, 2001 |