Preparations Commence for Dublin European City of Science 2012
Mr. Conor Lenihan T.D., Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation, met today, March 3rd 2010, with Prof. Enric Banda, President of Euroscience, to mark the formal commencement of preparations to host the European City of Science in Dublin in 2012.
Both Minister Lenihan and Professor Banda addressed the inaugural meeting of the Local Organising Committee for the City of Science event, a committee that is chaired by the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, Professor Patrick Cunningham.
Dublin European City of Science 2012 will take place from July 12th-16th in summer 2012. The event will bring together leading international scientists and high-ranking Government officials from across Europe to address the major global issues of our time, such as Energy, Climate Change, Food and Health, to name but a few.
Minister Lenihan spoke of the particular significance of this event to Ireland as we seek to realise the vision of the Smart Economy. He said “Hosting the European City of Science in 2012 will provide a platform to showcase the best of Irish science and research across all disciplines.”
The Minister added “The City of Science event is expected to attract 8,000 delegates (scientists, science administrators, policy officials, media) to Ireland for the event itself and will consequently have a considerable impact on the tourist industry. On the basis of research conducted by the Fáilte Ireland Business Tourism Forum, it is estimated that the total expenditure by delegates will be ¤14.3 million, which is expected to support over 270 jobs in the tourism sector.”
Professor Cunningham added that the event will provide a marvellous opportunity for Ireland to showcase, Europe-wide as well as beyond, the fruits of our intensive 10-year programme of investment into our research capacity. While the core event will take place over 5 days in July, he commented, the “City of Science” theme is set to run throughout the year. Planning is already underway for a large number of science-related conferences and activities over the course of the 12 months of 2012.
Dr. Banda outlined the experience of Barcelona in hosting the last City of Science event in 2008. In particular he highlighted, the positive legacy for science, technology and innovation that the event left behind to the city of Barcelona, the region of Catalonia and indeed all of Spain.
ENDS\IP144
Notes for Editors
For further information contact: Dr. Eamonn Cahill, Office of the CSA (01-607 3053).
Images will be available from Maxwell Photography: maxpics@eircom.net
Background Notes
The City of Science event (formally known as the EuroScience Open Forum) is an inter-disciplinary, pan-European meeting which aims to:
• Showcase the latest developments in science and technology;
• Foster a dialogue on the role of science and technology in society and public policy;
• Stimulate public awareness of, and interest in, science and technology.
It incorporates a number of distinct streams to further these aims:
• A Scientific programme of seminars, workshops and debates on the latest research;
• A Media programme to promote science communication;
• A Careers programme for young researchers;
• An Exhibition to showcase the best of European public and private research;
• An Outreach programme to engage with the general public.
The event brings together leading scientists and public policy officials to address all of the major global issues, including Energy, Climate Change, Food and Health. Previous events were held in Stockholm (2004), Munich (2006) and Barcelona (2008). Turin will be the host in 2010.
The event is held under the auspices of Euroscience, a grass-roots association of European scientists with the goal of promoting of science and technology. It was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Strasbourg. It represents scientists in the private and public sectors, and encompasses the humanities and social sciences, as well as the natural sciences.
The host city for the event is selected though an open competition. On 28 November 2007, the Cabinet Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, which is chaired by the Taoiseach, approved the proposal from the Chief Scientific Adviser that Ireland should compete to host the 2012 event. The bid development was led by the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA). The decision in favour of Dublin was announced in December 2008.
City of Science 2012
Local Organising Committee
Ms. |
Helena |
Acheson |
Forfás |
Dr. |
Ruth |
Barrington |
Molecular Medicine Ireland |
Mr. |
Tom |
Boland |
Higher Education Authority |
Mr. |
Peter |
Brabazon |
Discover Science and Engineering |
Ms. |
Orla |
Canavan |
Business Tourism |
Mr. |
Matt |
Corcoran |
Pfizer Biotech |
Dr. |
Tim |
Creedon |
Institutes of Technology Ireland |
Prof. |
Patrick |
Cunningham |
Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government |
Ms. |
Mary |
Davis |
Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia |
Mr. |
Peter |
Finnegan |
Dublin City Council |
Prof. |
Frank |
Gannon |
Science Foundation Ireland |
Dr. |
Michael John |
Gorman |
Science Gallery |
Ms. |
Úna |
Halligan |
Hewlett-Packard Ireland |
Dr. |
Chris |
Horn |
Engineers Ireland |
Mr. |
Martin |
Hynes |
Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology |
Prof. |
Peter |
Mitchell |
Royal Irish Academy |
Dr. |
Conor |
O'Carroll |
Irish Universities Association |
Ms. |
Dipti |
Pandya |
Irish Research Council for the Humanities and the Social Sciences |
Mr. |
Martin |
Shanagher |
Interdepartmental Committee on STI |
Mr. |
Eamonn |
Sinnott |
Intel |
Mr. |
Aidan |
Sweeney |
Irish Business and Employers Confederation |
Mr. |
Brian |
Trench |
Dublin City University |
Last modified: 03/03/2010
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