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.