Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE 2016-2021

Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE in figures

us

and the title of European City of Science

Silesian Science Festival at Expo in Dubai

organises the Silesian Science Festival

and international cooperation

Silesian Science Festival ambassadors

is important to us

Silesian Science Festival is for everyone!

of attractions and infinite knowledge

special guests

zones of the Festival

reward enthusiasts and science

for Katowice

and the Forum of Polish Science Festival Organisers

year round

on Tour

science on tour

and communication

figures

and partners

EDITION - ŚFN by the Rawa river

identity of the 5th ŚFN

ABOUT US

Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE is one of the largest popular science events in Poland and Europe.

Our aim is to keep convincing people about the value of knowledge and scientific research, and their positive influence on the future of the world. We want to awaken and strengthen so ciety’s interest in science by arousing cogniti ve curiosity in people of all ages – that is why we focus on their active participation in shows, experiments, lectures, and discussions. Programme of the festival is full of scientific attractions!

2019

“Golden Rose” – first prize for the best mar keting campaign among popular science events during the EUPRIO (European Association of Communication Professionals in Higher Education) conference.

Not only scientists and students work for the success of ŚFN. It is a joint effort of exhibitors, lecturers and science com municators from Poland and around the world. We find it important that the resi dents of the Silesian Voivodeship are awa re of the scientific variety of their region and proud of having such great academic centres and thousands of researchers wor king there. We are a member of the European Science Engagement Association (EUSEA) network – an organisation asso ciating European science festivals.

2020

Popularizer of Science – first prize in the competition organised by “Science in Poland” website of the Polish Press Agency and the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. ŚFN triumphed in the team category.

ŚFN AND THE TITLE OF EUROPEAN CITY OF SCIENCE 2024 FOR KATOWICE

The success of the Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE (ŚFN) contributed significantly to Katowice receiving the prestigio us title of European City of Science 2024. The 6th edition of the Festival will therefore become one of the most important events in preparation to take up the role of the informal ca pital of European science and the organiser of the European scientific olympics.

AT EXPO IN DUBAI

At the invitation of the Marshal’s Office, we were one of the ambassadors of the Silesian Voivodeship during the Expo 2020 world exhibition held in Dubai – as part of the Silesian Regional Week, our representatives conducted a series of workshops for children.

WHO ORGANISES THE SILESIAN SCIENCE FESTIVAL KATOWICE?

Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE is organised by the universities from the Silesian Voivodeship. In 2018, they signed an agreement and formed an official consortium. The University of Silesia in Katowice is the leader of the consortium, as well as the initiator and main organiser of the event.

employees of the University

of Silesia in Katowice worked on preparing the 5th edition of the ŚFN.

HOST CITY

CO-HOSTS

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Together with other polish science festivals, we decided to establish the Forum of Po lish Science Festival Organisers in 2020.

ŚFN is also an active member of the EUSEA (European Science Engagement Associa tion), within the framework of which we develop cooperation with foreign festivals

Our representatives have visited: Göteborg, Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Belfast, and New York.

We have created a cooperation network that greatly improves the quality of the festival.

Perfectly cooperating sponsors and institu tional partners support us financially and substantively during subsequent editions.

ŚFN Katowice

World Science Festival, USA, New York

Cheltenham Science Festival, UK, Cheltenham

Edinburgh Science Festival, Midlothian Science Fetival, UK, Edinburgh

Vetenskapsfestivalen, SK, Göteborg

EUSEA - European Science Engagement Association, DE, Vienna

EUPRIO - European Associatiin of Communication

Proffesionals in Higher Education, BE, Antwerp

Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE, Dubai

European City of Science 2022, NL, Leiden

SCIENCE FESTIVAL

PIOTR BARON

ŁUKASZ LAMŻA, PHD AGATA KOŁODZIEJCZYK, PHD

ŁUKASZ WILCZYŃSKI

CREATORS

JAN POMIERNY

The remarks and ideas of our ambassadors are reflected in the constantly improving quality of the Festival. Thanks to their invo lvement, we succeed in reaching new au dience and properly promoting the subse quent editions of ŚFN.

ROŻEK, PHD

JAROSŁAW

SPACE IS IMPORTANT TO US

ŚFN focuses on attractive arrangement solutions in the building of the International Congress Centre (ICC) – a new architectural symbol of our region. zones special zones main stage stages exhibition stands experiments exhibitions Science Station lecture and workshop halls food outlets and many more!

ŚFN occupies approximately 40,000 m 2 of space in the ICC, including:

On the occasion of Katowice receiving the title of the European City of Science 2024, we would like to cre ate a miniature Scienceville in the area of the 6th ŚFN.

of urban planning

SILESIAN SCIENCE FESTIVAL IS FOR EVERYONE!

The Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE attracts crowds of younger and older people fascinated by science.

The Festival’s offer is suitable for all audiences – for both organised school groups and entire families or friends who just want to spend their time in an inte resting way. Every year, we prepare online broadcasts of the entire event for all those who cannot attend the science festival in person.

The 5th Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE adopted a unique format. We invited you to participate in the outdoor and online space for the first time. The Rawa Scienceville arranged along the Rawa river was visited by nearly 35,000 people, and almost 25,000 people participated in online activities.

thousand people

visited the International Congress Centre in Katowice during the 4th edition of ŚFN

almost

thousand audience members

watched the five editions of ŚFN online

thousand people attended the 5th ŚFN

HUNDREDS OF ATTRACTIONS AND INFINITE KNOWLEDGE

The programme of ŚFN KATOWICE includes the opening gala and the main part of the event taking place at the International Congress Centre (the fifth edition was an exception – see chapter “Rawa Edition”).

The programme of the main part consists of several hundred different types of activities promoting scien ce and art. An important part of them are the exhibi tion stands located in six science zones that reflect the scientific fields operating at universities in the Silesian Voivodeship. These zones include:

l natural sciences, l humanities and social sciences, l technical sciences, l medicine and health, l exact sciences, l arts.

The activities also include hundreds of lectures and workshops, over a dozen exhibitions and concerts, and numerous meetings with festival guests – many of them took place in a more intimate form, either as part of Science Stations or in the comfort of a science bookstore.

The Festival space is complemented by thematic zo nes, including: l Special Zone, l Kids Zone, l Sports Zone, l OFF Science Zone (in which the Review of Garage Inventions is held).

The programme of the Festival is supervised by the Programme and Organisational Team, as well as our technical coordinators. Most of the points in the pro gramme are created on the basis of applications sent by units, employees, doctoral students, and students from universities organising the Festival, as well as other scientific entities, cultural institutions, and part ners.

SPECIAL GUESTS

RUSSELL

VICTORIA

ROBERT

LAURIE WINKLESS

SPECIAL ZONES OF THE FESTIVAL

COSMIC ZONE (3 RD ŚFN)

Participants had the opportunity to see, among others, shows in the mobile Silesian Planetarium from Chorzów, Mars rovers, a gyroscope, space suits, Youth Space Station stands and Astronomical Observatory in Sopotnia Wielka stands, VR stations, and a spherical tent in which they co uld meet Mirosław Hermaszewski (the first, and still the only Pole in space) and NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, as well as many space scientists.

Nicol Stott (guest of the 3rd ŚFN) has spent a total of

days 5 hours 48 minutes and 37 seconds in space during two missions to the International Space Station

STANISŁAW LEM ZONE (5 TH ŚFN)

It was planned on the occasion of the 100th birthday of the outstanding Polish writer and futurologist. The programme of the zone included lectures and a deba te thematically referring to the works and life of Stani sław Lem, while in a tent, visitors could see Mars rovers, a humanoid robot, a gyroscope, and VR stations. Not far from the tent the participants could see the mobile Silesian Planetarium from Chorzów.

CLIMATE AND ELECTROMOBILITY ZONE (4 th ŚFN)

where the participants could see environmentally friendly vehicles, such as electric cars and motors and solar planes, as well as the University of Silesia balloon used to study the air quality above the cities of the Me tropolis GZM. Interesting lectures on problems related to global warming were held in the spherical tent.

CITY AND WATER ZONE (5 TH ŚFN)

In the City and Water Zone, activities related to the main theme of the 5th ŚFN (which was Rawa, water, and public space in the city) were presented. The Zone included at tractions and topics related to the city and water, including shows and workshops presenting methods of water testing – for example, Rawa water as well as its impact on human health was examined. The participants could also take part in activities related to water sports and ways of using the Rawa coast for sports and recreation activities dedicated to the residents of the region, including families with children. Although the heart of the Zone was the Katowice market square, workshops, shows and presentations related to the City and Water Zone were also held along the Rawa boule vards. We saw the city from the Rawa perspective.

Accessibility Zone

In the Accessibility Zone, we focused on the issues rela ted to the adaptation of everyday life (including the virtual one) to the needs of people with disabilities. We created an opportunity to experience the world from a different per spective and provide support when disability limits human development and opportunities. Within this zone, repre sentatives of Katowice City Hall also provided career coun selling for secondary school students.

Remote Living Path

The Remote Living Path’s goal was to tell the participants more about our functioning during the SARS-CoV-2 pan demic. Its main point was the Covid Impact Stage, where scientists talked about how we lived during the pandemic in a social, psychological, and professional context; and about how new technologies make life easier and the dan gers they pose. The stage also hosted a debate: “Difficult questions on vaccines”. The remote Living Path and Stage were an attempt to summarise how the pandemic influen ced us as a society, what opportunities it opened and what costs it generated.

42 projects

in total could be admired in the OFF Science Zone during four editions of the Review of Garage Inventions.

26,159 votes

29 scientists were awarded the Silesian Scientific Award (ŚNN).

for Science Communicators were cast during two editions of the POP Science competition.

ŚFN AND THE FORUM OF POLISH SCIENCE FESTIVAL ORGANISERS

The success of ŚFN KATOWICE and the activity of the University of Silesia as the leader of the entire project were noticed and appreciated by the Ministry of Scien ce and Education – the Ministry chose our university to host the first Forum of Polish Science Festivals Orga nisers (FFN), which took place in Katowice on 27 and 28 January 2020.

FFN 2020FACTS AND FIGURES

90 representatives of Polish science festivals

Signing of the letter of intent on the establishment of the cooperation network integrating Polish science festival organisers

foreign guests: Ellie Petrie –Festival Programme Manager at the Cheltenham Science Festival, and Jennie Turner – Operational Manager at the Vetenskapsfestiva len (International Science Festival) in Göteborg.

The letter of intent on the establishment of the coope ration network integrating Polish science festival orga nisers was signed by 25 entities.

ŚFN ALL YEAR ROUND

We want the potential of ŚFN to “work” and bring re sults all year round, every day, and the Festival audien ce to remain connected with us between the subse quent editions of the event.

ŚFN scientific challenge

We also encourage people who know ŚFN to take up scientific challenges prepared by our team – there are various tasks to perform (e.g. Goldberg machine de sign, vision of Silesia in 2030, educational board game design), but what they definitely all have in common is creativity.

80,004

views of the webinars (15 April 2020 to 31 March 2022)

Webinar series

In April 2020, we started a series of online lectures con ducted by the ŚFN ambassadors and special guests, as well as scientists from the University of Silesia. In the first months of the social isolation during the pande mic, our webinars were hugely popular.

ŚFN ON TOUR — SCIENCE ON TOUR

The ŚFN on Tour is an initiative carried out as part of the Mobile Zone that appears as a guest during vario us events promoting science. ŚFN ON TOUR MEANS: EXHIBITION STANDS

MEETINGS WITH SCIENTISTS

28–30 May 2021

Park Kopczyńskiego, Wisła ŚFN on Tour at the Jerzy Pilch Festival of Words “Granatowe Góry” (“Blue Mountains”)

24 July 2021

Rosarium in Park Śląski, Chorzów ŚFN on Tour at the “Śniadanie na trawie” (“Breakfast on the Grass”) in Park Śląski

11 September 2021 Culture Zone, Katowice

ŚFN on Tour – relax zone during the “Zalewski i przyjaciele” (“Zalewski and Friends”) concert in celebration of Spodek Arena’s 50th anni versary

16 September 2021

LECTURES OTHER ATTRACTIONS

technology hall of the Silesian University of Technology campus in Katowice Press conference of the Silesian Science Festi val KATOWICE and Scientists’ Night

25 March 2022

ul. Uniwersytecka 4, Katowice ŚFN on Tour at the “City of Science for Ukra ine” concert

3–5 June 2022

Park Kopczyńskiego, Wisła

ŚFN on Tour at the Jerzy Pilch Festival of Words “Granatowe Góry” (“Blue Mountains”)

PROMOTION AND COMMUNICATION

ŚFN communication means constant contact with re cipients and partners. We provide our audience with recordings of the most interesting performances, en courage them to participate in numerous activities, and invite them to meetings with our ambassadors and speakers via social media.

We are broadly represented in the media, with which we have been cooperating successfully for several years, for example by engaging journalists in promo ting ŚFN. The promotion of each edition of the Festival has two stages – the first concerns the recruitment of activities, and the second – the programme, guests, and partners. In the second stage, we run an exten sive, nationwide advertising campaign on the Inter net, media, and public space. Our graphic designs are prepared by artists who are responsible for our artistic visual identification. In 2019, the 3rd Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE gained recognition and first place in the competition for the best communication and marketing initiatives of European universities – EU PRIO Awards 2019.

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

Since its first edition, Silesian Science Festival KATO WICE has been supported by the City of Katowice, the Metropolis GZM, and the Marshal’s Office of the Silesian Voivodeship. Thanks to our partners, we can implement a diverse and attractive programme in an exceptionally attractive setting.

38 partners

supported ŚFN KATOWI CE during the fifth edition of the event

So far, the festival has been supported by:

• ING Bank Śląski S.A.

• PZU SA

• Katowicka Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna

• Fundacja Deloitte Polska

• PKO Bank Polski

• Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazowe

• Górnośląskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów S.A.

• ArcelorMittal Poland

• Concept Music Art Sp. z o.o.

• GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.

• Bank PEKAO

• Fujitsu

• Mokate

• JAS-FBG

• Altmira

• Danone

• SPEAK-UP

• Koleje Śląskie Sp. z o.o.

RAWA EDITION – ŚFN

BY THE RAWA RIVER

In 2021, we organised the Festival in a completely new format, arranging the open-air Rawa Scienceville by the river. The event was held on Sunday, 11 October.

The festival area stretched over a kilometre, from the Katowice market square, through the following stre ets: Teatralna, Szkolna, Moniuszki, Pańki, campus of the University of Silesia in Katowice at Bankowa, including the car park behind the Faculty of Law and Administra tion of the University of Silesia.

The Rawa Edition included some new elements:

Accessibility Zone – we tried to show visitors how dif ficult life can be from the perspective of people with disabilities;

Support Zone “Four walls of homelessness” prepa red in cooperation with the Municipal Social Welfare Centre in Katowice – 66 people in the crisis of homeles sness benefited from a free hot meal, sanitary facilities as well as psychological and legal help.

Lectures were held on as many as stages

ŚFN by the Rawa river was the beginning of a long process of change that this river undoubtedly ne eds – both in terms of its image and urban plan ning. The past, present, and future of Rawa were the subject of the ceremonial Opening Gala which took place by the river on Saturday, 10 October. The participants of the Festival could see how attractive Rawa can look thanks to colourful illuminations.

The events in the open-air Scienceville by the Rawa river were complemented by an online programme that lasted for five consecutive days. It was particularly popular among school students. Lectures, workshops, and demonstrations could be attended via Zoom, and each day was devoted to a different field of science.