In addition to an opportunity to get to know each other, the network meeting served as an exchange of experiences. Together we took a look back at the past year and discussed expectations and plans for the coming year. What has happened at the contact persons' facilities? What are the lessons learned? And what new initiatives are planned for 2022?
As a basis for further discussion on possible topics, goals and expectations for science education and science communication in 2022 - both at the contact person institutions and at the OeAD Center for Citizen Science and Young Science - we also took a look at the new Eurobarometer survey EU citizen’s knowledge and attitudes towards Science and Technology.
The representative survey conducted in 27 EU countries and 11 other countries (candidate countries) in April and May 2021 showed again that Austria is among the laggards in Europe in terms of public perception of science and technology. For example, more than half of the respondents in this country (53%) said that it was not important to know about science in everyday life. Only 29% disagreed with this statement. The Austrians surveyed also do not have a good image of researchers. A third of them perceive researchers as "dishonest," and just under a quarter are undecided. This perception is even more pronounced only in Germany. Another striking finding in a European comparison is that one-third do not want to know anything or any more about new scientific findings. Here, too, Austria is far behind the EU average. And while across the EU a lack of time is seen as the biggest barrier to engaging with science and technology, in Austria lack of interest comes first (44%), followed by a lack of time and a lack of knowledge (36% each).
The results show how important it is to intensify science education and science communication measures. There is a lot to do again in 2022!
Previous network meetings