The final programme of the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) - the biennial, pan-European, general science conference dedicated to scientific research and innovation - is now available. ESOF will take place in Trieste, Italy, from 2 to 6 September, with a rich programme, a large variety of topics, and an assortment of high-level speakers.
All events will be held in the Old Port of Trieste, particularly at Magazzino 27 and Magazzino 28, at the heart of the new Trieste Convention Center – TCC, the multifunctional congress center which will be inaugurated with ESOF. Among the 150 events of the forum on the calendar, about 70 will be held virtually, another 70 in a hybrid format, and about 10 will be in-person. Plenary meetings as well as presentations by high level speakers will be available through streaming.
The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) is an ESOF partner organisation, and will be present onsite with an exhibition stand (shared with TWAS and OWSD) and its staff will contribute to the event’s scientific, press and promotional activities.
The session ‘Beyond the lab: career paths between science and policy’, organised in collaboration with S4D4C and EFSA, will take place on 6 September in Room 27A (from 6pm to 7:30pm), and IAP Coordinator Peter McGrath will join the panel to trigger a discussion on alternative career opportunities for professionals with a scientific academic background. The aim of the session is to raise awareness for interesting career paths on the interfaces between the areas of science and policy.
Peter McGrath will also moderate the TWAS/IAP session 'Permanent Insecurity: A Science International strategy to support displaced and refugee scientists and science students', that will take place on 3 September 2020 in Room 28H (from 8am to 10:30am).
Furthermore, on 3 September at 3pm a press conference will present a new IAP Statement, and on 5 September at 1pm the IAP Science Education Programme (SEP) Chair Wafa Skalli will be online to meet the press and discuss, among other issues, the impact of COVID-19 on education.
The ESOF meetings will also be recorded and will be made available on demand. The ESOF2020 online platform will serve to stream most virtual and hybrid sessions to all registered users. Up to 5000 people will be able to connect at the same time. Registration is mandatory for all events both on- site and remotely. Registration is free for all accredited media correspondents and can be done through the link: https://www.esof.eu/en/register.html.
A very rich programme displaying high-impact topics, chosen not only because they describe science and technology progress but also because they are relevant in shaping the world to come, is offered during the event, including: climate change and sustainable development, COVID-19 and pandemics, migrations, blue economy, equal gender opportunities in science, society and more.
More than 700 experts from around the globe will speak at ESOF, including: Nobel Prizes Ada Yonath and Barry Clark Barish; mathematician and recipient of the Fields Medal Alessio Figalli; Alberto Mantovani, the Scientific Director of the Humanitas Institute; Hans Otto Pörtner, from the Alfred-Wegener-Institute IPCC Co-chair WG2; Thomas Hartung, Johns Hopkins University; Mauro Giacca, King’s College London; Michele Morgante, Institute of Agricultural Genomics; Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University; Gerald Haug ETH Zürich; Telmo Pievani, University of Padua; Jain Mattaj, EMBL-European Molecular Biology Laboratory; Griša Močnik, Jožef Stefan Institute; Matevz Lenarčič, Aviation for Science; Elena Cattaneo, University of Milan; Marica Branchesi, Gran Sasso Science Institute; Marc Mézard, Director of Ecole Normale Supérieure.
The opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 2 September at 3pm in the new Auditorium of the TCC Magazzino 28. Stefano Fantoni, Champion ESOF2020; Michael Matlosz, President of EuroScience; Roberto Dipiazza, Mayor of Trieste; Massimiliano Fedriga, President of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region will say a few words before the opening speech by Cardinale Piero Parolin, Secretary of the Vatican State. Gaetano Manfredi, Ministry of Education, University and Research; Fabiola Gianotti, Director of CERN and the virologist Ilaria Capua will follow. The event will also include Fabrizio Nicoletti, from the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Sanja Damjanovic, Ministry of Science from Montenegro; and Emmanuel Nzimande, Minister of Science and Technology of South Africa, and Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.
The closing ceremony, on 6 September will host: the Italian President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte; the Italian Minister of Economic Development, Stefano Patuanelli; and also Mariachiara Tallandini, a Professor of science, law and democracy. In the audience there will also be: Massimiliano Fuksas, architect; Paolo Glisenti, Commissioner General for Italy at EXPO Dubai; Gabriele Galateri di Genola, the President of the insurance company Gruppo Generali; Massimo Inguscio, the President of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), and Roberto di Lenarda, University Rector with the University of Trieste.
For more information check the ESOF website.
