Dublin to host annual science festival from next year

20 Dec 2012

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden pictured as he made his presentation in Dublin as part of the Euroscience Open Forum in July

Dublin will play host to a three-day science festival next year, with the science event set to be an annual fixture in the city. The news was announced today as Dublin ended its 2012 tenure as European City of Science.

Details about the new science festival were announced today by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD, together with the Minister of State for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock, TD.

Dubbed the ‘Festival of Curiosity’ the three-day event will be held in July 2013, with the event aiming to promote Ireland’s scientific achievements and to get people of all ages interested in science.

There will be a mixture of cultural events as well as public conferences and lectures. Workshops will be also be given via an artist-in-residency programme whereby science teachers, scientists and members of the public will be collaborating on new ways of engaging people with science.

Dublin City Council, law firm Matheson, the RDS and Science Foundation Ireland will be some of the supporters of the festival.

Bruton and Sherlock today marked the ending of Dublin’s year as City of Science, which involved events all over the country involving an intersection of the arts and culture.

The main event was the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) in July, which attracted more than 4,000 delegates from some 74 countries, including five Nobel Laureates.

“This summer we showed the global scientific and business community that we truly are a centre of scientific excellence and I am determined to ensure that we build on this legacy,” said Bruton today.

He said that the annual festival of science in Dublin will kick off with a three-day event next July.

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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