FALLING WALLS ENGAGE HUB GREECE

CONNECTING GREEK AND INTERNATIONAL PRACTITIONERS

Concluding a first round of international Hub launched in 6 countries, the Falling Walls Engage Hub in Greece was launched on 30 November 2021.

For this occasion, Falling Walls Engage partnered up with SciCo, founded in 2008 by Theo Anagnostopoulos.

This Hub launch included a virtual Community Workshop for regional and international Science Engagement practitioners on Tuesday 30 November 2021. The session was followed by a Celebrity Science show open to the broader public and was live broadcasted from Athens.

 

FOCUS ON SCIENCE INFLUENCING 

In a world where social media platforms abound, science has found its way to reach multiple audiences via ingenious and eloquent individuals. In recent years – and particularly since the COVID-19 era – science influencers have found new ways of communicating science, using their “influencership” to disseminate reliable scientific knowledge, limit the spread of online misinformation, or respond to debates of scientific and social relevance.

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

Participants were invited to explore the topic of “science influencing” on social media, discussed challenges and opportunities and shared experiences with experts in the field.

We had the pleasure to welcome Mr Andy Ridgway, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at University of the West of England Bristol (UWE Bristol) and RETHINK principal investigator, who delivered a keynote on the communication of science online.

The keynote was followed by a Fireside Chat with the Science Influencer Stamos Archontis aka “The Mad Sc1ent1st”.

In the last part of the workshop, we asked participants to put their knowledge into practice as part of a hands-on activity and game on the “Science of Greek food”.


CELEBRITY SCIENCE

At this show a scientist and an artist meet to “compete” on scientific topics in a fun and entertaining format. With the objective of raising awareness on important science topics and engaging with broad audiences, Celebrity Science has met with great success in Greece – covering topics such as genetics, cognitive bias and astronauts’ experiences in space.

This episode of Celebrity Science focuses on the topic of microplastics, with the scientist Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez and the artist Philip Golle.

 

 

More information about the speakers of the Hub and the guests of Celebrity Science:

 

Andy Ridgway

Andy is Programme Leader of the MSc in Science Communication and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

His areas of research include:

  • The challenges and opportunities presented by the communication of science online, including misinformation.
  • How people use online information to inform their opinions and behaviour in relation to topics as diverse as COVID-19 and food waste.
  • Applying Social Practice Theory to the use of online platforms such as social media.
  • Science journalism practices.

Andy is UWE Bristol's PI on the European Commission-funded RETHINK research project (Horizon 2020), which is exploring digital science communication across Europe. The project team also involved VU Amsterdam and Ecsite, the European network of science centres.

Andy is a member of the judging team for the Max Perutz Science Writing Award run by the Medical Reseach Council (MRC).

Before starting at UWE Bristol, Andy spent nearly 20 years as a journalist, including a spell as Deputy Editor of BBC Focus magazine. Prior to that, he worked in local newspapers as a Reporter and News Editor.

Andy continues to be a practicing journalist, writing predominantly for BBC Focus as well as New Scientist. He has also written for The Economist and Men’s Health among other publications.

As well as writing for and editing print publications, Andy has extensive experience of digital publishing, particularly on tablet computers. While editing BBC Focus’s interactive iPad app, it was named specialist publication of the year twice at the Digital Magazine Awards (2011 and 2012). Andy was also named Editorial Person of the Year in the BBC Magazines Awards for Excellence in 2010.

 

Stamos Archontis

aka "The Mad Scientist"

Stamos Archontis has a Bachelor's Degree (Hons) in Chemistry from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and he is a science communicator on YouTube where he makes videos for the channel "The Mad Scientist". In the context of his work as a science communicator he focuses on explaining complex scientific concepts, promoting scientific literacy and debunking pseudoscience. As a science communicator he has participated in many seminars and events as guest speaker with the topic of how to bring science close to the general public and dispel long held pseudoscientific ideas. He is currently attending a post-graduate program in journalism entitled “Μaster of Arts in Digital Media, Communication and Journalism” at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and for the past 6 years he has been working as a journalist for the fact-checking site Ellinika Hoaxes, a member of the International Fact Checking Network.

 

Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez

PhD candidate at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University

Her research focuses on the global challenge of plastic pollution using a social and ecological point of view. Her PhD is a collaborative project between the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Gothenburg University in Sweden, in partnership with the 5 Gyres Institute in the US. She uses a resilience, system thinking and complex-systems approach to investigate and drive sustainable change. She addresses plastic pollution challenges from an international policy to social movements. She is especially passionate about equity, environmental and social justice, and understanding how social groups translate scientific knowledge into effective responses and institutional change.

 

Philip Golle

A state-approved hula hoop artist and co-host at the Wissenschaftsvarieté Glitzern & Denken.

Since 2010, he has worked with the renowned Salon K, a lifestyle theatre company for private clients where seven exceptional artists interact with the audience to create a new kind of influence and stimulation. As an international performer, Phil.Lip is most celebrated for his innovative and compelling hula hoop shows. He is also a member of Ensemble Salon Fähig, Berlin’s science variety show in cooperation with Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. In the show, Phil is the counterpart to our researchers and interprets their facts in a special way.