SciFest wins an award

Uppsala University and SLU organise SciFest together. It is a major science festival that attracts around 7,000 visitors over three days: two days for schools and one for the public. Children and young people can meet researchers and try out science for themselves through a range of activities.

Many people at SLU helped make this award possible

SciFest has received the award from “Barnombudet” in the Uppsala Region, a non-profit organisation working to realise children’s rights.

Everyone at SLU who has been involved over the years – and there are many – can feel genuinely happy and proud. This award shows that research communication also contributes to democracy. Children have the right to know what is happening in research, to ask questions and to contribute their perspectives.

Hope for the future

The award was presented on 8 November at the “Framtidsglöd” festival at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress. This is Uppsala’s sustainability festival, celebrating hope and confidence in the future. It felt especially meaningful to take the stage there. Research can give children and young people hope. The future can often feel bleak, but at SciFest, visitors can see that Uppsala’s universities are working to solve the problems we face – and that they too can help.

SciFest aims to help children develop by sparking their curiosity and encouraging them to continue exploring how the world works.

For all children and young people

“Barnombudet” particularly highlighted how SciFest makes science accessible to children and young people, regardless of their background or circumstances, because entire school classes attend the festival. This is also a major focus for SciFest. This year, 30 sponsored buses brought school classes to SciFest from Uppsala’s outlying districts, nearby towns and rural areas. For these schools, attending has previously been difficult because travelling to Uppsala is complicated and expensive.

Anna Lundmark, SciFest coordinator at SLU