Spodek Arena, Katowice | Photo by Przemysław Borsuk
| Julia Galas |
The celebrations of giving Katowice the prestigious title of the European City of Science 2024 start in December. Therefore, we have prepared 10 facts about this one-of-a-kind event, thanks to which you will learn a bit more about it.
Did you know that…?
1
The title of the European City of Science is given by the organisation called EuroScience in cooperation with the European Commission. Its idea is to intensify changes for the societal transformation towards science in specific European cities. It is intended to showcase the richness and diversity of European science, to foster mutual learning, scientific integration, interest in science among younger generations, and to develop European research without borders.
2
Katowice is the first in the history city in Central-Eastern Europe to be honoured with the ECS title. The decision was announced, and a consortium agreement between the ECS organisers was signed during the press conference held on 22 December 2021 in the Centre for Scientific Information and Academic Library (CINiBA).
3
Katowice is going to host the EuroScience Open Forum 2024, taking place in June 2024. The ESOF conference has been organised since 2004. The host of each edition is the city holding the title of the European City of Science. So far, the hosting cities were Stockholm, Munich, Barcelona, Turin, Dublin, Copenhagen, Manchester, Toulouse, Trieste and Leiden.
4
The celebrations of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 are organised by the Academic Consortium Katowice – City of Science consisting of: the University of Silesia in Katowice (leader), Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice, Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, the Silesian University of Technology, the Medical University of Silesia, the University of Economics in Katowice, the City of Katowice, the Silesian Voivodeship, and the Metropolis GZM.
5
The success of the Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE has had an enormous impact on awarding Katowice the title of the European City of Science 2024. Six editions of this one of the biggest science communication events in Poland and Europe have been visited by a total of 555,000 people and featured 7,174 exhibitors and 279 special guests.
6
This year’s Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE will also be the opening weekend of the European City of Science Katowice 2024. 9 December will not only be the first day of the Festival but also a day of the science and music spectacle KATOPOLIS taking place in Spodek Arena, featuring scientists, musicians, and artists from the universities forming the Academic Consortium Katowice – City of Science. The musical setting of the event will be made by Miuosh, a Polish hip-hop star and music producer; the lyrical aspect will be written by Zbigniew Rokita, an outstanding writer and winner of the Nike Literary Award for the book Kajś. Opowieść o Górnym Śląsku [Somewhere. A story about Upper Silesia]; and all that will be directed by Jan Matuszyński, PhD—a creator of the films The Last Family (2016) and Leave No Traces (2021)—together with Mateusz Znaniecki, a film director and actor associated with Stanislaw Wyspianski Silesian Theatre in Katowice.
7
The celebrations of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 and the 7th Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE will be held under the slogan ‘Science will give us the future.’
8
The most important goal of ECSK 2024 is to support and continue the transformation of the region through science, provide its residents with unlimited access to knowledge and turn it into a fundamental instrument for civil dialogue.
9
The all-year programme of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 will be created around 50 Weeks in the ECSK 2024; each of them will be devoted to an important problem of Polish and world science with a significant impact on our lives. Participants will have a chance to meet with outstanding experts in a given field, and the citizens will have an opportunity to join the process of knowledge development, e.g. within the citizen science activities.
10
The programme of the 7th Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE will be based on six thematic paths of the European City of Science 2024. These are: Health and Quality of Life; Climate and Environment; Industries of the Future; Social Innovations; Industrial and Cultural Heritage; and Creation and Criticism.