Six young Irish science ambassadors are travelling through Europe by bus from Dublin to Turin in Italy to promote Dublin as European City of Science 2012.
Having left Dublin Port yesterday morning, their first stop was Liverpool, a city that has strong Irish connections, where they met with the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Hazel Williams.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Emer Costello spoke via a Skype connection to the bus with the Lord Mayor of Liverpool.
This symbolic link using technology between the two mayors emphasised how modern communications technology can bridge time and place.
Dublin’s Lord Mayor spoke from the Community Training Centre in Ballyfermot. She stressed the value of training and in particular technology up-skilling if we are to help tackle unemployment.
Both Dublin and Liverpool face significant economic challenges and both lord mayors agreed that education and science could play a key role in helping overcome these challenges.
The Turin bus moves on to visit Brussels, where the ambassadors will win the support of MEPs and commission officials for the 2012 events in Dublin.
Its ultimate destination is Turin, where the Mayor will formally hand over the Capital of Science to the Lord Mayor of Dublin on 7 July.
