EuroScience and the ESOF Supervisory Board are proud to announce that the EuroScience Open Forum 2020 will be hosted from 4 to 10 July 2020 in Trieste, Italy, and that ESOF 2022 will be organized by Leiden/The Hague, The Netherlands, in July 2022. We received two impressive and solid full bids from Trieste and Leiden/The Hague, and we wish to recognize both cities’ credentials to become the European City of Science in 2020, respectively 2022.
Trieste has seen the development of important international and national research institutes for research, technology transfer and the dissemination of science in Trieste, bringing to the city a concentration of research workers among the highest in the world. As a Central European city, Trieste will work to make ESOF 2020 an example of strengthening links with Central and Eastern European scientists, businesses, politicians and citizens.
The World Academy of Sciences – TWAS – is one of many international and regional science organisations headquartered in Trieste, which makes Trieste a true international capital of science. TWAS was among a number of local organisations to help organise the bid for ESOF 2020. Others were ICTP, ICGEB, OGS. Working together, these organizations will make ESOF 2020 a great international success.
Leiden is an age-old European scientific and cultural stronghold. Its university is renowned for mathematics, natural sciences, life and health sciences and social sciences and humanities, and provides with its Leiden BioScience Park an outstanding example of connecting science to business. The Leiden University The Hague branch builds on that city having been become the City of International Law and Justice.
We are convinced that both Trieste and Leiden/The Hague will add their name as major European cities to the European Cities of Science that have organized ESOF since 2004 in Stockholm.
Prof. Gail Cardew, chairperson ESOF Supervisory Board, said “A city to be awarded ESOF is given the title of European City of Science. The city becomes a focal point for a discussion about science, not just among scientists but with the whole city. Trieste’s and Leiden/The Hague’s very different traditions of developing research, connecting it to business and engaging the public provide perfect backdrops for ESOF. The two cities exemplify and further enrich the diversity Europe boasts of. We look forward to developing strong and exciting programmes with the Local Organisers in Trieste and Leiden/The Hague.”
Prof. Stefano Fantoni, President of the Trieste International Foundation for Scientific Progress and Freedom, said: “We are looking forward to working together with EuroScience to make Trieste 2020, with the theme ‘Freedom for Science, Science for Freedom’, a worthy successor to Manchester 2016 and Toulouse 2018. Our vision of Trieste as a hub for science, business and society interactions in a wide geographical area such as North-East of Italy and Central Eastern European countries has been the true winning key. The nomination of Trieste as host for ESOF 2020 is very exciting and it is viewed by all of us as a very important step for the development of a future international Science Center.”
Prof. Ferry Breedveld, former president of the Executive Board of Leiden University Medical Centre, and prof. Corinne Hofman, Dean Faculty of Archeology, Leiden University, said: “We are excited with the news that ESOF 2022 will take place in Leiden. This emphasis the scientific position of the city and the knowledge institutes that are based in Leiden. This is Europe’s largest general scientific conference and it will bring 4500 delegates to the City in July 2022, including global scientific and technology leaders. The theme will be `Science, The Infinite Source of Discoveries’ which suits the slogan of our City: ‘Leiden, City of Discoveries’.”
About ESOF
The EuroScience Open Forum, ESOF, is well established as the biggest general science conference in Europe. It was organized for the first time in Stockholm in 2004 and has since been held every two years, coming to Munich, Barcelona, Turin, Dublin, Copenhagen and Manchester. Toulouse will host ESOF in 2018. ESOF is the European meeting place for scientists, science teachers, media, politicians, industry and the public at large, and aims to:
• Presenting scientific and technological developments at the cutting edge from natural sciences to social sciences and humanities;
• Stimulating the European public’s awareness of and interest in science and technology;
• Fostering a European dialogue on science and technology, society and policy by offering a platform for cross-disciplinary interaction and communication between the public, politicians, policy makers, industry, the media and scientists on current trends and future roads for science and technology, their interaction with society and policy and the role of the public.
About EuroScience
EuroScience is the European grassroots organization of scientists and all those taking an interest in science. It is the voice of European researchers, across disciplines and countries; promoting dialogue with researchers worldwide. Its objectives are:
• Engaging with policymakers, business and society to create a stronger Europe through science
• Convening partnerships to work on careers, rights and responsibilities of scientists and key issues of science policy
• Promoting transparency of, and providing information on European STI policies
• Advancing science for the pursuit of knowledge, prosperity and global development, and for addressing transdisciplinary global challenges.
EuroScience is based in Strasbourg.