Science activism: going beyond informing policy and society
Is scientific advice for policymaking enough? When is it appropriate for scientists to act as advocates? In order to discuss the role of activism in science and explore the challenges of engaging in activities to bring about social change, EU-LIFE participated in the Euroscience Policy Forum on Science activism: going beyond informing policy and society.
EU-LIFE co-organised the session Science activism for health, which was moderated by Sara Ricardo, SIRIS Academic, and had a distinguished panel of speakers formed by:
- Mariana Alves, Co-founder & co-director of Cartas com Ciencia
- Ramon Brugada, Cardiologist at University Hospital Girona and founder of Project Girona cardio-protected
- Emanuel Wyler, Postdoc at MDC and co-creator of a tool to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens in wastewater
- Nermeen Zakaria, Neuroscientist and awardee of the Women 4 Africa fellowships
The panellists shared their experiences and reflected on science activism through meaningful discussions. The conversation covered topics such as:
- the responsibility of scientists to act and the potential cost of speaking up;
- the relevant topic of equity in health;
- the different levels of action researchers can engage in;
- the complexity of the European policy landscape;
- the historic bias in science, especially with regard to discrimination of minorities;
- the need to take into account the individual freedom of citizens.
In addition, Marta Agostinho, EU-LIFE Executive Director, was a panellist in the plenary session Engaging in EU policymaking: Understanding pathways and processes. Marta shared the tactics used by EU-LIFE to lobby for science and talked about the necessary skills for scientists to get their ideas across, as well as the steps that need to be taken to engage in policymaking.
Check out activism projects from EU-LIFE institutes:
