PAERI conference heading to Switzerland BY MATHIEU ISIDRO (SKAO, PAERI WORKING GROUP CHAIR)
The fifth edition of the Public Awareness and Engagement with Research Infrastructures conference, or PAERI for short, will be hosted by SKACH, the Swiss consortium for the SKAO, near Lausanne in Switzerland from 27-29 November 2024. Centred around the theme “science communication across borders”, the conference will bring together science communication practitioners from across European research facilities and beyond to discuss ways to communicate science across borders both physical and virtual – whether this might be language, education, technology, geography, demographics, and more. Egyptian physicist Dr Gihan Kamel will deliver the keynote address, speaking about her career and science communication and diplomacy in the Middle East through the SESAME project (Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East).
infrastructures, followed by a visit to CERN, where a new science engagement centre has just been inaugurated. The previous edition was held at the SKAO Global Headquarters in July 2022.
Watch: SKAO hosts international science communication meeting PARI
Hosted by SKACH at Le Cube, a brand-new modern cultural event space in Morges, just outside Lausanne, the PAERI’24 hybrid conference will see two days of talks and workshops on the public communication activities of research
Visitors flock to family outreach events in the UK BY DR HILARY KAY (THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER)
Recent months have provided exciting opportunities for SKA-themed outreach in the UK, with the UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) welcoming visitors to its sites for open days, and the Bluedot festival taking place again at Jodrell Bank. In July, festival-goers braved the typically fickle British summer weather to take part in a bumper weekend of funfilled activities at Bluedot, a science, music and art festival which takes place next door to SKAO HQ. As ever, volunteers
from the HQ and The University of Manchester inspired visitors, providing hands-on activities and the opportunity to take part in some live radio astronomy observing. Across the festival, visitors were also treated to engaging talks not only about the SKA telescopes and the revolutionary science they will enable, but also on the impact of large satellite constellations on facilities like the SKAO. July also saw Daresbury Laboratory throw open its doors to more than 5,000 visitors, showcasing the cutting-edge research funded by the STFC and raising awareness of the SKAO and the UK’s role in it.
SKAO staff volunteering at the Bluedot festival. Credit: SKAO 46
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The UK Astronomy Technology Centre, based at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, also welcomed almost 2,500 visitors to the historic site as part of the Edinburgh Doors Open event in September. Alongside activities for the younger visitors, staff explained their role in developing essential software for the SKAO and highlighted the immense scale of the project, aiming to inspire some of the next generation of astronomers and data scientists. ISSUE
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