“There is a population that is far from science that we have to look out for.”

Nearly 250 people made the trip to the Alboro Cultural Center in Bastia for the 41st National Conference of the Association of Museums and Centers for the Development of Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture (AMCSTI). From 21-23 June, professionals from the scientific world on the continent and beyond will gather to compare their views and develop innovative approaches on the best mediation techniques for adoption with the general public.

“There are populations far from science that we should seekrecalls Agnès Parent, president of AMCSTI. For this purpose, the 250 structures of the association, as the Casa di e Scenze does here for example, offer exhibitions, conferences, participatory science, some of them have even initiated the production of online content to reach a young audience … a variety of all these actions that will allow us to reach a large populationDuring these days, the topics covered during this annual conference will touch on various fields such as sustainable development or issues related to the region.

Making the scientific world attractive to the general public

However, one of the main challenges for the representatives in attendance was to discuss best practices for engaging the public in the scientific world. “The interest is to expand ourselves and to have other horizons, to benefit from the experiences that are carried out in the various centers spread throughout France and abroad.confirms Antoine Ferracci, president of the A Rinascita di u vechju Corti association. As we can see, there is a decline in attendance in scientific fields, which is why we are taking action with high school students to encourage them to engage in these scientific fields. We have two priorities: the public school on the one hand, because we develop activities throughout Corsica, but we also address the general public in various forms through exhibitions and conferences for example. ”

This enhancement of knowledge would be nothing if it were not brought closer to the population, which is why Casa di e Scenze wanted to host this annual conference. The institution was inaugurated three years ago thanks to the support of the City Council of Bastia and has been established within a priority area of ​​the city of Luppino.
For its director, Bertrand Thibault, science must start from an early age in order to prove itself permanently. “It is a daily work that we do, by making the population, especially children, curious about the world around them, to get them in touch with nature. It is the success in making them understand phenomena through science that is important. For people to care about it, we must be not subjective but scientifically objective, and that is what we put at the heart of our practice“.