On 4th to 8th June 2008 Sciencewise-ERC visited Cheltenham Science Festival. The sun shone on us the whole five days, and the people of Cheltenham and further a-field flocked to the Town Hall to engage with science. This year’s festival theme was taboos. Excessive population, food scarcity, robotics and care for the young and elderly, bullying and more fragile topics were discussed in detail and the members of the audience didn’t hesitate to share their opinions.
Among the festival’s highlights was the sold-out talk on epigenetics, where Lord Robert Winston engaged the public in an exciting talk on the ghosts in our genes. Car fanatic Richard Hammond managed to fill the Arena with co-car enthusiasts. John Beddington, the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, addressed the issues of sustainability and food scarcity, while Jonathon Porritt, chair of the Sustainable Development Commission and a well-known ecowarrior, discussed overpopulation on earth in more detail.
Sciencewise-ERC used this opportunity to raise awareness about public dialogue, and explain how people’s opinion can be fed into policy. Informing the public is an important step towards establishing public dialogue as standard practice in policy-making. Sciencewise-ERC would like to thank the Cheltenham team for the opportunity to meet the public and be part of this fantastic experience.