European Night of Scientists 2020 kicks off with fresh competitions for children and young people with imagination and inspiration

Hundreds of Bulgarian scientists will participate for another year in the European Night of Scientists 2020 initiative, the culmination of which will take place on November 27 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. in more than 25 settlements in Bulgaria, including Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna , Ruse, Pleven, Stara Zagora, Blagoevgrad, Sliven, Gabrovo, Kotel, in the populated areas of the municipality of Dolna Mitropolia, on board the scientific research ship "Akademik", in the Rhodope narrow gauge railway).

For another year, the Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be the regional organizer of the event.

The code name of the innovative project, in which more than 300 cities in Europe and the world participate at the same time, is FRESHER (fresher) - an abbreviation from the English language and means Find Research Everywhere, SHAre and expERience. The initiative to popularize science and its achievements is financed by the European Commission under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie program of the Horizon 2020 program. The focus of the Night's events this year is the theme of plant health announced by the United Nations for 2020, which addresses the future of the planet in the context of plant life conservation, ecology, the role of plants in human health as well as the economy , and many other areas.

This year, 20 main and 35 associate partners from all over the country are participating in the BG Night of the project, who have prepared a special program of events - both on the Night itself and for several months, in order to visually and attractively convince that science is everywhere around us and that there is a way for everyone to tap into it. The program covers exciting activities in schools, competitions, meetings with scientists in research institutes and universities, as well as events in public city places, in universities, museums, laboratories and other educational institutions.

We start the campaign with the launch of our traditional competitions for children and youth with inspiration and imagination. "Fantastic Plants (and How to Find Them)" is a competition for drawings by children and young people with hearing impairment of an unusual plant or tree. "Song Sheets" is a competition for blind and visually impaired children and youth to create an audio recording of nature sounds. In the Strong Tenderness challenge, girls and young women can participate by writing an essay about how they see themselves in science. "Roots of Inspiration" is a competition for any student who wants to write an essay about a science teacher who inspires him/her. In "Kazana duma" we will collect winged thoughts and inspiring messages from the world of science to create a new set of lucky charms that accompany every fragrant cup of coffee in establishments. Among the fun and educational initiatives this year is "A day in the life of an academic" - an exciting adventure in which students will be able to observe how a day goes by for some of the most senior scientists in Bulgaria. All competitions will be open for submissions on October 26, 2020. More information about the competitions: https://fresher-researchersnight.bg/competitions/

We will be waiting for you again this year at European Night of Scientists 2020 FRESHER on 27 November 2020 with interesting, fun, cheerful and educational demonstrations, scientific exhibitions, experiments, games, lectures and other activities.

You can learn more about the European Night of Scientists at https://fresher-researchersnight.bg/, as well as on our profiles in social networks- https://www.facebook.com/ResearchersBG, https://www.facebook.com/rcci.bg