These were the words JINR Director Academician Grigory Trubnikov addressed with the participants of the All-Russian Forum of Science Popularizers that took place on 18 May at the site of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Popularizers and specialists in the fields of scientific communication from 60 Russian regions, as well as representatives of Great Britain, Poland, and Greece, gathered for the event. In total, more than 1,000 people, including the team of the JINR press office, participated in the Forum both offline and online.

Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Elena Druzhinina started the event and noted the importance of attracting young people to science, starting from an early age. “A science popular book, a film, or a scientific show – all this evokes interest that becomes the meaning of life for many people. We are now setting the fashion for science. Our clip of achievements has events of world significance. The Neutrino Telescope at the bottom of lake Baikal has been already launched, the construction of scientific and research vessels is underway, the T-15MD tokamak has been launched,” the Deputy Minister highlighted.

Deputy Head of the Presidential Department for Scientific and Education Policy Denis Sekirinsky welcomed participants of the Forum and called popularizers to search for new tools and integrations for attracting a wide audience to science, especially among the youth.

Grigory Trubnikov in his talk noted the role of science communicators who help research projects build trusting relations with society and help scientists speak about their work. “Science has come to every home from laboratories and universities. The development of information technologies erases the borders and distances between people from different continents. The popularization of science bridges the gap from “academicism” to every person. It is a certain responsibility of a scientist to explain the essence of their work and its benefit,” the JINR director highlighted. He also drew the attention of the audience to the fact that the Year of Science and Technology provides additional opportunities for mass popularization of Russian Science. “Moreover, this is an excellent opportunity to present the scientific potential of Russia at the world arena, to show its achievements, modern developments, and topical issues,” Grigory Trubnikov added.

The Forum was attended by Vice-President of the Mendeleev Russian Chemical Society Professor Yulia Gorbunova, Editor-in-chief of the science popular journal Schrodinger’s Cat Vitaly Leybin, British chemist and science popularizer Sir Martyn Poliakoff, Professor of Space Physics at Athens University Xenophon Moussas, representatives of largest corporations, science popular projects, businesses, charitable foundations, and scientific journalists.

In the frames of five thematic tracks, participants of the Forum got acquainted with the most successful practices in the fields of science popularization, discussed organization of science popular events at the federal, regional, international levels, and opportunities provided by a public-private partnership in this area. A separate block of the event was dedicated to new formats and activities of the flagship event of the Year of Science the All-Russian Festival “NAUKA0+”.

At the end of the Forum, popularizers were able to apply their knowledge and try their hand at spontaneous team organization of a popular science event as part of a business game.

Photos: All-Russian Forum of Science Popularizers