VA appoints new Secretary General

Ulrika Björkstén will start as VA’s new Secretary General on 14 August. She is currently a Science Commentator at Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio). She succeeds Cissi Askwall and will become the association’s third Secretary General since the association was founded in 2002.

European conference explores way forward for Open Science

VA led the organisation of a highly successful two-day conference on “Open Science – from Policy to Practice” in May in association with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Hosted in Stockholm and online, the event brought together policy makers and practitioners from across Europe to discuss different perspectives of shaping, implementing and embedding Open Science. Documentation and a recording of the conference are now available.

Current activities

VA partner in new EU project on soil literacy
June marks the start of LOESS, a new project under the EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, aimed at increasing interest and knowledge about the importance of soil health. VA will be coordinating the development and testing of educational materials aimed at school pupils, students and the general public, through dialogue and co-creation with a wide range of stakeholders. Read more.

TechEthos game gives voice to citizens on ethics of future technologies
Imagine being given the power to decide which technological developments should be part of tomorrow’s world? Hundreds of citizens were challenged to do this as part of a game played in six countries created by the EU TechEthos project to explore public attitudes and ethical concerns regarding future technologies. In Sweden, game workshops were run by VA in Stockholm and Botkyrka. Public exhibitions are also now under development. Read more.

First results of the Plastic Experiment now available
The first report of the Plastic Experiment, VA’s citizen science project involving young people and members of the public from across Sweden to investigate plastic waste, has now been published. The objective is to better understand how plastic litter is spread in natural environments through a nationwide mapping. A further round of data collection will take place in the autumn. Read more.

VA’s recent activities

VA’s experiences at the 2023 EUSEA conference
VA colleagues joined science communication professionals from across Europe at this year’s EUSEA (European Science Engagement Association) conference held in May in Italy. Read about Project Manager, Julia Brink’s experiences at the event, where she had the opportunity to present VA’s citizen science initiative, the Plastic Experiment. Read more.

The power of science in boosting young people’s inclusion in society
In the EU-funded YouCount project, researchers and young citizen scientists have been joining forces to improve young people’s inclusion in society. In March, around 50 researchers and young people from 9 countries gathered in Spain to discuss methodological approaches to creating social innovations and their experiences to date. Here the Swedish participants share their takeaways from the meeting. Read more.

Testing deliberative methods for academia-society engagement
Using Academic Deliberative Arenas to facilitate community engagement is at the heart of the Erasmus+ Tenacity project. In this interview, VA colleagues explain their motivation for getting involved and what they want to achieve through the project. Read more.

Building bridges in scicomm – PCST 2023
VA hit the ground running at the PCST (Public Communication of Science and Technology) conference in Rotterdam 11–14 April. Giving insight talks on ongoing projects, presenting results from recent studies, hosting workshops and participating in panel discussions, VA played its part in making PCST 2023 one of the largest scicomm events yet. Read more.

Using fun games to teach serious subjects
“Mission BioHero” is a serious game that has been co-created by the EU project AllThings.BioPRO in order to teach people about the bioeconomy and how they can improve their sustainable behaviours. Here, project partners highlight the potential of games in teaching crucial and complex topics in a fun and interactive way. Read more.

Blog: Stepping out of the researcher bubble
Leonie Vetter, a PhD student in molecular biology at Karolinska Institutet recently undertook a one-month internship at VA. In a blog, she talks about how this experience allowed her to discover her role as a scientist in society and gain a new appreciation for the responsibilities that come with the profession. Read more.

Tips and tricks from the winner of Researchers’ Grand Prix 2022
Matthew Tompkins from Lund University is the cognitive scientist who used illusions and magic to amaze the audience in the national final of the Swedish Researchers’ Grand Prix in 2022. VA interviewed him about his experiences of the competition, his best advice for this year’s participants, and about his passion for magic in psychology. Read more.

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