On Thursday, 22 September 2022, a press conference was held at the Planetarium – Silesian Science Park, with the signing of a cooperation agreement under the tasks resulting from the European City of Science 2024 for the City of Katowice. The document concerns cooperation in the field of the joint organisation of the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), which is to be held in Katowice in 2024, as well as long-term initiatives related to the idea of the City of Science.
The signatories of the agreement were: mayor of Katowice, Silesian voivode, marshal of the Silesian voivodeship, chairman and vice-chairman of the Metropolis GZM, and rectors of the universities associated in the Academic Consortium Katowice – City of Science: University of Silesia, Silesian University of Technology, Medical University of Silesia, University of Economics, Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Academy of Fine Arts, and Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music.
In their speeches, representatives of the Consortium emphasised the essence of joint action and the opportunity for the entire region, which the title of the European City of Science 2024 provides. Matthias Girod, the secretary general of the EuroScience association, also took the floor, stressing that Katowice was the first city in Central and Eastern Europe which received this prestigious distinction.
During the meeting, the logo of the European City of Science 2024, which was prepared by artists from the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, was also presented. The concept of creating the logo, which is meant to symbolize the members of the consortium, was presented by the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts, Prof. Grzegorz Hańderek.
The mayor of Katowice, Marcin Krupa, PhD, presented the rectors of seven universities with letters regarding the commissioning of research as part of the work on the European City of Science 2024 programme. The City of Katowice – strategic partner of the consortium – will allocate PLN 100,000 for this purpose for each university. The University of Silesia was commissioned to carry out research and development work aimed at creating a report on the expectations of the inhabitants of Katowice towards the assumptions of the European City of Science 2024 in the field of natural sciences.
The decision to award Katowice the title of the European City of Science was made in December 2021, and the official handover took place on 16 July 2022 in Leiden, the Netherlands. The institution awarding the title and organizing the ESOF conference is EuroScience (European Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology) which cooperates with the European Commission.
Photo by Olimpia Orządała