Team:Aix-Marseille/Public Engagement
Bed bug infestations are increasing every year both in Marseille and all over the world. The origin of our breaking bugs project was this increase in infections and awareness. We wanted to help our local community as well as the whole world.
We engaged in a dialog with the local community by going to as many fairs and gatherings as possible, with three main messages to deliver:
- What is iGEM?
- What are bed bugs and how to prevent infestations?
- Engaging the public in the breaking bugs project.
Throughout our project, we have engaged with the public, both to test their opinion on our project, and through a series of educational events in schools and open to the general public.
To test public opinion about our project, several surveys were carried out: in the street; on the internet; and across the world. Thanks to these surveys, we found that while eliminating bed-bugs is a priority for much of the public, and in general, biologically based solutions were popular, GMO’s were often badly perceived or weren’t known at all.
The team participated in a number of educational events targetting different groups. School children were introduced to synthetic biology via interventions in schools and open-air centers with experimental activities around DNA (Science Village, Research Night). We participated in a national conference on social housing, presenting our project to professionals in the domain. A more informed audience was targeted through a conference and stand at a local biotechnology forum. These interventions helped educate the youngest about synthetic biology and bring a new vision of GMO's to an older public.
Science Fair
Created in 2003, the science fair in Marseille is a place to exchange ideas and popularize science using interactive, accessible, and fun activities. The aim is to increase the scientific knowledge and awareness of the general public. At the fair, we had two main products to sell to the public: synthetic biology and how it can address the current challenges faced by the public, and our breaking bugs project.
European researchers' night
Every year at the end of September the “European researchers’ night ” take place in several cities throughout Europe. This year we had the opportunity to participate in this event the 28th and 29th September.
Biotechnology forum
In collaboration with Polytech Marseille, we were given the opportunity to attend the 19th biotechnology forum. This yearly forum enables participants to exchange with experts on the latest biotechnology advances as it brings students and professionals together. Conferences are held to address the current challenges of biotechnology, which now play a major role in the health and environmental sectors. This year, the main topic was Transgenesis in support of Health and Environment.
Social housing union convention
One of the key problems of our project was the lack of visibility. Once there the press have talked about us, we have had multiple opportunities. Indeed we were invited to present our project at the 79th social housing union which is a confederation which gathers all the French providers of social housing. This represents about 730 different organizations that manage a total of 4.5 million housing units (flats and houses) and more than 22 000 people including reporters, conventioneers, companies and social agencies. The union organized its annual national congress in Marseille this year, on the 9th, 10th, and 11th of October.
Science festival
The fête de la science or science festival is a national event that promotes scientific awareness and, in a festive setting, exchanges between science and society! It was started 27 years ago by the French ministry of higher education, research, and innovation, and is still piloted by the ministry. The festival offers a meeting point between the general public and the actors of science. Giving an opportunity through experiments, debate, and exchanges, for the public to gain new knowledge and to form opinions about the issues facing our society.
Communication, news and radio
For the Aix-Marseille team, communication has been a pillar of our activity. We have put a lot of effort into public engagement and participated in lots of events that have helped us carry out our project. During these events, we wanted to explain synthetic biology as well as molecular engineering to the general public. In France, GMOs are not appreciated and many people find this term is scary. Our team wanted to show that GMOs, despite having some disadvantages, can also have advantages. Therefore we wanted to establish a strong dialog with the general public on this subject.