Summary of the parallel session "Inspiring and being inspired" hosted by Ecsite and Ciência Viva at the RRI Tools Final Conference

There are so many different ways of thinking about one thing, and especially when it comes to such a thing like RRI, there are definitely many approaches and perspectives. In this session, we wanted to share new perspectives and inspiring approaches to RRI and show the examples and practices that provide solutions to the Horizon 2020 societal challenges and/or address sustainability development goals.

To achieve this aim, the format of the session had to be something innovative, and an interactive theatre intervention was perfectly suitable for that purpose. This format brought together all the participants of the session for a playful exploration of hopes and concerns regarding synthetic biology, and such format itself reflected the values of RRI. A facilitator guided the theatrical debate and the whole interaction between attendees and actors. Participants were challenged to think about, reflect upon, and anticipate the issues portrayed in several scenes – for instance, should an aging father accept his daughter suggestion to use a new life-extending biotechnology?

After the interactive play, a multidisciplinary panel of speakers shared insights and experiences gained in their RRI initiatives.

Pedro Oliveira presented Patient Innovation, an open platform for patients and caregivers of any disease and geography to share solutions they developed.

Sofie Vanthournout, from Sense about Science EU, highlighted the importance of an evidence-based approach to scientific and technological developments and how RRI can help to achieve it.

Then it was the turn of several EFARRI finalists to present their projects:

• Sarah Dury, Dominique Verté and Nico De Witte, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, introduced the project Belgian Ageing Studies;

• Alba Ardura, from the University of Perpignan and Sara Fernández, University of Oviedo, presented the Environmental DNA project 

• Silvia Moriana and Anne-Sophie Gresle, from Barcelona Institute for Global Health, talked about the project ¡Pasa la voz! Spread the word about Chagas disease.

The final discussion was focused on addressing questions from participants collected at the beginning of the session.                                        

Want more inspiration for your RRI activities? Go and check out the RRI Toolkit.

 

Antonina Khodzhaeva works on RRI Tools at Ecsite, the European network of science centres and museums

Gonçalo Praça works on RRI Tools at Ciência Viva, RRI Tools Hub coordinator for Portugal