What is this buzz word, science engagement all about?
After all, as scientists, be this in the Humanities or the Natural Sciences, do we need to engage? And if so in what ways can we do so?
Surely our most important goal as scientists is to improve this world we live in. But is the voice of science making sense to society?
These are urgent questions and it was for this reason that UWC hosted the launch event of the 9th Falling Walls Engage Hub where passionate science engagers talked about the four elements of Planetary Health, fire, water, air and earth.
Topics included agrarian justice, astrophysics, participatory approaches for water and food security, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity, whale songs, human-animal relations and access to STEM education.
What bound us all together was a deep commitment to science engagement and how this could transform our worlds.
As our keynote speaker Dr Heide Hackmann the Director of Future Africa at the University of Pretoria said - we, as scientists are not making enough progress in protecting our planet and society. And we need profound change in the way we engage.
Dr David Fig, chairing the panel on Fire asks whether we are using our democracy to make good decisions?
Which scientists should we be listening to as, he reminds us, scientists are often sponsored by big capital? Which science can we trust?
We need another language, another vehicle as a bridge between our research institutes, our universities and people.
The time for science engagement is now and we must together find ways to engage so that there is transformation, so that we can bring about the urgent changes that our planet needs if we are going to survive as a species and protect our planet for future generations.
Whether this be about protecting our rivers, protecting the creatures that live on the planet, protecting ourselves, we must engage much more meaningfully so that there is real transformation.
And in our efforts to engage we need now to look around us and draw on expertise across the board – the humanities must be talking to the natural sciences, the hydrologists, engineers, geologists, physicists must be talking to the sociologist, the anthropologists, the psychologists, We can no longer afford the luxury of being fixated in our safe and separate silos.
The status quo isn’t working and we need to risk being uncomfortable as we explore new terrains in our quest for planetary health.
We need, more than ever, unbiased science. Science must be shared and this requires techniques, approaches to society that are not top down but are co-creative, empowering, fair and just.
The onus is on us, as scientists to draw on the transformative potential of science. Surely, if we want to succeed we can no longer afford to keep science separate from society?
Science engagement means opening our ears to the poets, the musicians, rap artists, graphic designers, puppeteers – those who are skilled in messaging, skilled in reaching out into barren spaces where science has not been able to penetrate.
The time is now to question everything we see or hear and the silences where we do not hear or cannot see.
We need to open our hearts and minds in our quest for a different science, a different form of engagement.
The Falling Walls Engage Hub marked the first steps in our journey with Falling Walls to make sure that we promote science engagers for the benefit of our country, our region and the African Continent, leading up to the International Year of Science Engagement 2027 with UWC as one of the proud partners promoting science across the globe.
And something about the partnership between the Falling Walls Foundation and the University of the Western Cape.
The Falling Walls Foundation is a unique international platform for leaders from the worlds of science, business, politics, the arts and society located in Berlin, Germany.
As one of the foundation’s programmes, Falling Walls Engage is the global platform for Science Engagement co-hosted by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
The mission of Falling Walls Engage is to connect and support established and emerging Science Engagement stakeholders to generate mutual benefits for science and communities all around the world.
The University of the Western Cape, is an incubator or science engagement, and with its history as a promoter of social justice stands proudly side by side with the Engage Hubs in Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Kenya, Argentina, Sweden and Greece – all with a common vision for 2022 of Planetary Health.
We all share a common passion of taking science out of the library and out of the laboratory and into communities who not only benefit from the science but inform the future paths for the trajectory of a science in the service of and for people.
* Hosted by International Relations and the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of the Western Cape and launched on the 28th and 29th November 2022
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL