EuroScience and the Fondazione Internazionale Trieste announced that the 2020 edition of the EuroScience Open Forum will be rescheduled to take place from 2 to 6 September in Trieste (Italy). The ESOF event, originally planned to take place from 5 to 9 July, has been postponed as a consequence of the Coronavirus pandemic and the exceptional safety and prevention measures undertaken in Italy and in other countries around the world.

The rescheduling will be accompanied by an update and revision of the ESOF programme. Digital tools, such as teleconferencing for session delivery, will be made available, and session content related to issues concerning public health and the environment, currently at the heart of scientific, political and public debate worldwide, will be amplified. ESOF will maintain its commitments with the sponsors and with the companies involved in the event.

“ESOF is the place where the scientific community meets to reflect on its practices and role in society,” says Stefano Fantoni, ESOF2020 Champion. “In these challenging times, scientific research is more crucial than ever, and its impact, as well as its communication to governments and the public, are of utmost importance. It is for this reason that EuroScience and the Fondazione Internazionale Trieste have taken the decision not to cancel the event but rather to go forward with the EuroScience Open Forum, aware of the urgency of shared strategies to address the current challenges we are facing.”

“We recognize that the effects of the Coronavirus may still be present in September,” indicates Michael Matlosz, President of EuroScience. “In response to that eventuality, our priority will be to make ESOF2020 as accessible as possible for all who wish to participate, and as relevant as possible for all who attend. Targeted sessions will be added to the programme, with invited researchers, policy-makers and other experts, to exchange on the issues highlighted in the global response to the Coronavirus pandemic. ESOF2020, in the spirit of all previous ESOF events, will encourage open dialogue at the interface between the scientific community and all societal stakeholders.” Further information on the organization of the ESOF2020 event and programme will be available in the coming weeks at www.esof.eu and www.scienceinthecity2020.eu . 

In this new scenario, the Science in the City festival, originally scheduled from June 27 to July 11, will be less concentrated in time and space, also to meet the new needs of public healt, and will be extended for a longer duration from July and for several months, not only in Trieste but in different places of Friuli Venezia Giulia.