International Congress Centre in Katowice
Night of the City of Science: Film Music Concert, 7 Dec, 7 p.m.
Entry upon showing a free pass. The entry pass is required for selected activities ↳ www.slaskifestiwalnauki.pl/en/home
International Congress Centre in Katowice, pl. Sławika i Antalla 1
▶ 7 Dec 2024 (Saturday), 12.00–6.00 p.m.
▶ 7 Dec 2024 (Saturday), 19.00 Night of the City of Science
▶ 8 Dec 2024 (Sunday), 10.00 a.m.–6.00 p.m.
▶ 9 Dec 2024 (Monday), 8.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m.
FREE ENTRY PASS
The Festival is free of charge Scan the QR code, register, and receive your very own entry pass.
▶ Website: www.slaskifestiwalnauki.pl/en/home
▶ Roam freely around the Festival’s space and take advantage of most activities (exhibitions stands, zones, most stages, and special attractions).
▶ Newsletter with practical information and the full programme.
ŚFN REBRANDING
Tomasz Kipka, PhD, DLitt, Assoc. Prof. – Author of the New Visual Identity
For the last 8 years, the Festival has been growing and eventually was ready for a change. Plenty of things around us have been transformed throughout this time, for example, social awareness in terms of accessibility. This aspect has become one of the reasons for refreshing the Festival’s visual identity, which has adjusted its clarity to contemporary expectations. It does this by replacing the pre-
EVENTS WITH SPECIAL REGISTRATION:
▶ Visit www.slaskifestiwalnauki.pl
▶ Click ‘Register for the 8th ŚFN’
▶ Select ‘Register for Events’
▶ Fill in the form
▶ Print out the confirmation or show it on your mobile device
If you have not registered for the selected activity in time, you may still enjoy it as long as there are free spaces.
viously used – often unreadable – uppercase letters with letters that are significantly more comfortable to read – a wider and more legible lowercase. The nod towards utilitarianism is not the only change that has happened. The motif in the background of the campaign materials is also important – it can be seen as a living organism creating bigger structures and searching for hidden connections that represent discoveries. Similar to a magnet, it has two opposite poles, contrasting not only in colour but also in form. Its space is filled with a colourful tonal gradient, familiar from the Festival’s previous visual identity. This space represents a path that can be interpreted as the transformations happening in science. It can take various shapes. The tonal gradient has been with the Festival since its beginnings, providing visual continuity. The icing on the cake is the symbol known from the logo of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 and the emblem of the Academic Consortium – a gear symbolising the collaboration between Katowice’s public universities.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
LOCATION OF INFORMATION POINTS
▶ Lower Lobby from pl. Sławika i Antalla,
▶ Upper Lobby from ul. Olimpijska,
▶ Main Foyer of Conference Rooms
▶ Multifunctional Hall –Central Information Point
▶ Multifunctional Hall –Districts of Knowledge
FESTIVAL
AND ECSK 2024 APP
▶ Download a dedicated app via Google Play and Apple App Store to stay on top!
▶ Make sure to update the App before using it! Download a free app dedicated to the European City of Science and follow the events programme!
SILENT DISCO AT THE CITY OF SCIENCE MARKET OF IDEAS
Use your very own mobile device and headphones to immerse yourself in science in a space without a traditional sound system.
OPTION 1: Borrow a headset at the Market of Ideas and listen to individual stages by switching channels on the device.
OPTION 2: Use your very own mobile device to connect to the Market of Ideas via Zoom, and select a channel of your interest.
OPTION 3: Listen to the stages of your liking via the audio induction loop that is compatible with hearing aids and hearing implants.
SUPERNOVA NEWSLETTER
▶ A reliable source of information regarding the 8th Festival and its future editions
▶ Sign up and read the latest news from the world of science and research, interviews with Festival guests, scientific and popular science articles published by universities co-organising the Festival, and information about call for proposals, prizes, awards, and many more!
FOOD AND SNACKS
The Festival does not provide only food for thought! Visit the Food Court, the restaurant and the food outlets to enjoy some delicious meals!
DRINKING WATER
Take your own bottle and fill it at water dispensers scattered around the Festival. Check their location on the Festival map.
ACCESSIBILITY: POLISH SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION
▶ The Main Stage is interpreted into the Polish sign language live and on broadcast the entire time!
▶ You may have the entire Festival offer translated into the Polish sign language – find the interpreters at the Accessibility Point in the Lower Lobby.
HEARING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
All Stages are equipped with audio induction loops, a technology supporting the hearing-impaired. You may find the instructions at the Stages.
The Festival space is accessible for push chairs and wheelchairs.
CHANGING AND FEEDING BABIES
▶ The changing table is located at the restroom by the Upper Lobby, and Conference Room No. 5 serves as a space for breastfeeding and calming your baby.
ACCESSIBILITY POINT AND SPECIAL NEEDS
Conference Room No. 25 has been made a Relaxation Room for people with autism spectrum disorder. The sofas and chairs scattered around provide a comfortable space to relax, whereas the Information Points provide help in case of any troubles. At the main Information Point (Lower Lobby), volunteers are happy to assist any of your special needs; for example, a blind person will receive the help of an assistant to explore the Festival.
ACCESSIBILITY
Selected events carried out in English offer simultaneous interpreting into Polish. You may borrow the headphones at designated points.
EDITORS: Adam Bała, Emilia Mielaniuk, Martyna Fołta, Justyna Szostek‑Aksamit
AND
Tomasz Kipka, PhD, DLitt, Assoc
Karolina Skorupka; Iwona Cichy, PhD
MAIN STAGE / SCENA GŁÓWNA
→ MULTIFUNCTIONAL HALL / SALA WIELOFUNKCYJNA SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
12.20–13.00 Black Holes. The key to understanding the Universe PROF. JEFF FORSHAW
13.05–13.25 Performance by the Cieszyn Brass Band of the University of Silesia under the direction of Karol Pyka
13.45–14.15 A Window into the Brain DR YOLANDA OHENE
14.20–14.50 Darwin Comes to Town PROF. MENNO SCHILTHUIZEN
15.25–15.40 Performance by the Cieszyn Brass Band of the University of Silesia under the direction of Karol Pyka
15.40–16.50 Official opening of the 8th Silesian Science Festival (in polish)
SUNDAY, 8.12.2024
15.00–15.20 Nature-Inspired Surface Technologies
PROF. JAS-PAL BADYAL
16.00–16.40 3 Ways to Save the World FRAN SCOTT
16.45–17.25 FameLab Stars MARIEKE NAVIN, DAVID PRICE
17.30–18.00 Hunting the Higgs DR SAM GREGSON
MONDAY, 9.12.2024
08.30–09.00 Astrobiology – The Hunt for Alien Life
PROF. LEWIS DARTNELL
09.05–09.45 Why Evolution is STILL True PROF. JERRY COYNE
11.05–11.45 3 Ways to Save the World FRAN SCOTT
15.30–16.00 Hunting the Higgs DR SAM GREGSON
SCIENCE CORNER STAGE / SCENA SCIENCE CORNER
→ SALA KONFERENCYJNA NR 6 SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
12.30–13.30 The Impact of Science Communication on Public Policies
PROF. JAS-PAL BADYAL, PROF. PEDRO RUSSO, DR MARIEKE NAVIN, DR CÁTIA CARDOSO, DR HAB. AGNIESZKA TURSKA-KAWA, PROF. UŚ
13.40–14.40 Transform4Europe Science Café
14.50–15.30 FameLab: Inspiring Science Communication at its Best! DR MARIEKE NAVIN
15.40–16.00 Mariupol State University – Today and Tomorrow
DR OLENA SUZDALIEVA
16.00–16.45 The role of Polish Partners in Rebuilding the Ukrainian Higher Education System
DR OLENA SUZDALIEVA, DR ŁUKASZ GOŁOTA (NAWA), PROF. DR HAB. TOMASZ PIETRZYKOWSKI, DR HAB. MAŁGORZATA MYŚLIWIEC, PROF. UŚ, DR EMILIA REKOSZ-CEBULA
SUNDAY, 8.12.2024
10.30–11.10 Faith versus Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible
PROF. JERRY COYNE
11.20–11.50 The Urban Naturalist
PROF. MENNO SCHILTHUIZEN
12.00–12.30 How the Earth Shaped Human History
PROF. LEWIS DARTNELL
12.40–13.10 Can you control the Large Hadron Collider?
DR SAM GREGSON
13.20–14.05 Black Holes: Facts and Myths. Conversation between Jeff Forshaw and Tomasz Lanczewski – the translator of the Polish edition of the book „Black Holes. The key to understanding the Universe”
15.45–16.15 Finfing my Inner selfie
DR YOLANDA OHENE
MONDAY, 9.12.2024
09.10–09.40 Can you control the Large Hadron Collider?
DR SAM GREGSON
STEM STAGE (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATH) / SCENA STEM
→ MULTIFUNCTIONAL HALL / SALA WIELOFUNKCYJNA SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
14.25–15.05 How superconductors are supporting the energy transition
PROF. J. GEORG BEDNORZ
15.40–16.10 Explora: Learn How to Make science differently or new ways of sharing science
DR SARAH HURTADO-BAGÈS
SUNDAY, 8.12.2024
11.00–11.50 Women in STEM
DR HAB. AGNIESZKA NOWAK-BRZEZIŃSKA, DR ANNA CHROBRY, DR ANNA FOGTMAN, DR YOLANDA OHENE
WORLD STAGE / SCENA ŚWIATA MARKET OF IDEAS / RYNEK IDEI
→ MULTIFUNCTIONAL HALL / SALA WIELOFUNKCYJNA SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
13.05–13.35 The Impulses of River Revitalization for the Ecologic and Economic Development of Cities: the Case of the River Emscher, Germany
DR STEPHAN TREUKE
MONDAY, 9.12.2024
17.00–18.00
EU TalentOn: Build the Team, Shape the Future
LUCIEN GEEELHOED, ADAM GRZYWACZYK, ALEKSANDRA MAKIEJ, ANNEKE KASTELEIN, EMMA OLMI
10.10–10.50 Say What I Am: Riddles and Their Magic in the Early Middle Ages
DR HAB. RAFAŁ BORYSŁAWSKI
MR TWARDOWSKI STAGE / SCENA PANA TWARDOWSKIEGO
→ MULTIFUNCTIONAL HALL / SALA WIELOFUNKCYJNA
SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
14.30–15.00 The Possibilities of Mars Colonization SAMUEL MCKEE
SUNDAY, 8.12.2024
11.50–12.20 Harnessing gene editing technology to live on Mars SAMUEL MCKEE
16.10–16.40 Astrobiology – The Hunt for Alien Life PROF. LEWIS DARTNELL
MONDAY, 9.12.2024
11.10–11.40 How the Earth Shaped Human History PROF. LEWIS DARTNELL
SCIENCE STOP: DOWNTOWN / PRZYSTANEK NAUKA: CENTRUM
→ MULTIFUNCTIONAL HALL : SCIENCE DISTRICT / SALA WIELOFUNKCYJNA SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
13.10–13.30 PROF. JEFF FORSHAW
SCIENCE STOP: THE LOOP / PRZYSTANEK NAUKA: PĘTLA
→ UPPER HALL / HOL GÓRNY SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
15.30–16.00 PROF. MENNO SCHILTHUIZEN
SCENE OF SCIENCE. I LIKE IT! / SCENA NAUKA. TO LUBIĘ!
→ AUDITORIUM / SALA AUDYTORYJNA MONDAY, 9.12.2024
11.00–11.40 Wonders of physics. Tomasz Rożek interviews
Noble Prize winner Prof. Georg Bednorz
PROF. J. GEORG BEDNORZ, DR TOMASZ ROŻEK
FULBRIGHT STAGE / SCENA FULBRIGHTA
→ LOWER HALL / HOL DOLNY SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
14.20–14.40 Witold Gombrowicz in Translation
LIC. ZOEY GRANT
14.45–15.05 Blindness as the Medium for Vision
MGR STEPHEN PROSKI
AI STAGE ZONE / SCENA STREFY AI
→ BALLROOM C / SALA BALOWA C SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
12.20–12.40 The need to impart knowledge about AI to today’s children and young people
PROF. DR HAB. INŻ. RYSZARD TADEUSIEWICZ
12.50–13.10 Citizen data for AI - the power of communities in the age of artificial intelligence
SEBASTIAN KONDRACKI
13.20–13.50 AI & Science
PROF. DR HAB. URSZULA BORYCZKA, SEBASTIAN KONDRACKI, DR INŻ. MACIEJ SAJKOWSKI, DR HAB. MICHAŁ BEJGER, PROF. PAN, PROF. DR HAB. MICHAŁ BACZYŃSKI, KAROL JAŁOCHOWSKI
14.00–14.20 Why Should we Always Think Twice about Using AI?
PROF. HORST HOERTNER
14.25–14.45 Art & AI? (or Why We Should Work With AI!)
PROF. HORST HOERTNER
14.55–15.15 Are AIs NeuroDivergent? The Collateral Benefits of Human Nature on Artificial Intelligence
PROF. MAURICE BENAYOUN
15.25–15.55 AI & Art
PROF. MAURICE BENAYOUN, DR HAB. KSAWERY KALISKI, PROF. ASP, PROF. DERRICK DE KERCKHOVE, PROF. TIZIANO MARGIOTTA, PROF. HORST HOERTNER, DR HAB. ANNA MAJ, PROF. UŚ
16.00–16.40 Data precision key to AI development DR HAB. JAN KOZAK, PROF. UE
SUNDAY, 8.12.2024
10.20–10.40 From Play to Progress: How Video Games Influenced AI and What Lies ahead
DR HAB. PIOTR SIUDA, PROF. UKW
10.50–11.10 The cultural impact of AI on science, engineering, ethics and business
PROF. COSIMO ACCOTO
11.20–11.40 The Personal Digital Cognitive Capital
PROF. DERRICK DE KERCKHOVE
11.50–12.40 AI in Education & Future Thinking
PROF. WOLFGANG MUENCH, PROF. HORST HOERTNER, PROF. DERRICK DE KERCKHOVE,
PROF. DR HAB. JACEK PYŻALSKI, DR KAROL PIEKARSKI, DR HAB. ANNA MAJ, PROF. UŚ
12.50–13.10 Artificial Intelligence has the potential to significantly contribute to women's empowerment
PROF. MARIA PIA ROSSIGNAUD
13.20–13.40 Zastosowanie sztucznej inteligencji w analizie danych satelitarnych na potrzeby konfliktów zbrojnych –możliwości i ryzyka
DR INŻ. KAROL JĘDRASIAK
13.50–14.10 Łączenie tradycji z innowacją: rola nauczycieli w krajobrazie generatywnej sztucznej inteligencji
DR HAB. JACEK PYŻALSKI, PROF. UAM
14.20–14.50 AI, Ethics & Risks
15.10–15.30 Scraping the Surface: Printmaking in Response to Extractive Industry MGR DEVON STACKONIS
15.35–15.55 AI and Education: Navigating the New Normal PROF. LYNN W. ZIMMERMAN
PROF. ANITA POLLAK, DR INŻ. KAROL JĘDRASIAK, PROF. MARIA PIA ROSSIGNAUD, PROF. MAURICE
BENAYOUN, PROF. COSIMO ACCOTO, WENDY COONES
17.00–17.50 AI, Knowledge & Society
PROF. DERRICK DE KERCKHOVE, DR HAB. PIOTR CELIŃSKI, PROF. UMCS, DR KAROL MAKLES, DR KATARZYNA MAKOWSKA, DR HAB. PIOTR SIUDA, PROF. UKW, DR HAB. ANNA MAJ, PROF. UŚ
Metalwork as the Cultural Heritage of Cieszyn; Kaja Renkas/Iwona Pom posters and graphics
Reality; Unique Ceramics –Shape, Colour, Idea; Microworld on a Macroscale GIRLS;
Edyta M. Nieduziak and Marzena Paciej
of
and
About the Style of Being ‘in Opposition’ ‘Niepatrzenie’. What Happens with
AI STAGE ZONE / SCENA STREFY
AI
→ BALLROOM C / SALA BALOWA C
MONDAY, 9.12.2024
11.35–11.55 Harnessing Generative AI Models in Visual Art: Achieving Artistic Vision through Advanced Techniques ZSOLT LUKACS
12.00–12.30 Early Innovators and the Future of AI Art: Expanding the Boundaries of Creativity WEENDY COONES
14.30–15.00 Art, Artificial Intelligence and Desire: Phenomenology of the Act of Creation, between Matter and Algorithm PROF. TIZIANO MARGIOTTA
GAMING ZONE STAGE / SCENA STREFY GAMINGU
→ BALLROOM B / SALA BALOWA B SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
15.20–16.00 Can the Subaltern Play? Videogames and Perspectives of Play from the Margins PROF. SOUVIK MUKHERJEE
SUNDAY, 8.12.2024
11.50–12.30 Videogames and Science Fiction. Postcolonial Perspectives PROF. SOUVIK MUKHERJEE
EXHIBITIONS AND MUSICAL EVENTS
MUSICAL EVENTS
NIGHT OF THE CITY OF SCIENCE KATOWICE 2024
SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
Time: 19.00
Location: Main Stage, Multifunctional Hall
More information →
MAIN STAGE / SCENA GŁÓWNA
13.05–13.25 Performance by the Cieszyn Brass Band of the University of Silesia under the direction of Karol Pyka
15.25–15.40 Performance by the Cieszyn Brass Band of the University of Silesia under the direction of Karol Pyka
FULBRIGHT
STAGE / SCENA FULBRIGHTA
→ MULTIFUNCTIONAL HALL / SALA WIELOFUNKCYJNA SATURDAY, 7.12.2024 → UPPER HALL / HOL GÓRNY SUNDAY, 8.12.2024 → LOWER HALL / HOL DOLNY SATURDAY, 7.12.2024
11.25–12.05 DUET POSTMAN
12.55–13.40 RYSZARD
12.00–12.25 Performance by the Cieszyn Brass Band of the University of Silesia under the direction of Karol Pyka
17.35–18.05 Performance by the Cieszyn Brass Band of the University of Silesia under the direction of Karol Pyka
ART DISTRICT / DZIELNICA SZTUKI – EXHIBITIONS
ROOMS NO. 1–2
▶ Metalwork as cultural heritage of Cieszyn
→ UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE
▶ Kaja Renkas/Iwona Pom posters and Augmented Reality graphics
→ UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE
▶ Unique ceramics – shape, color, idea
→ UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE
▶ Micro World in Macroscale
→ UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE
▶ GIRLS → UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE
▶ Cosmos. Exhibition of works by Edyta M. Nieduziak and Marzena Paciej
→ UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE
ROOM NO. 3
▶ Drawing lesson no. 3
→ UNIVERSITY OF JAN DŁUGOSZ IN CZĘSTOCHOWA
▶ Organism Mechanism
→ UNIVERSITY OF JAN DŁUGOSZ IN CZĘSTOCHOWA
▶ Narrations – photographic and literary exhibition
→ UNIVERSITY OF JAN DŁUGOSZ IN CZĘSTOCHOWA
ROOM NO. 4
▶ Leopold Tyrmand – about the style of being “on the counter”
→ INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL MEMORY COMMISSION FOR THE PROSECUTION OF CRIMES AGAINST THE NATIONAL MEMORY BRANCH IN KATOWICE
▶ Author’s photographic exhibition “Not Looking. What happens to our body deprived of gaze?
→ UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA IN KATOWICE
ROOM NO. 24
▶ Amateur art movement “Gwarek 58”
→ SILESIAN MUSEUM