Final Report Editor Ulrike Felt June 2003

Science Festivals and Weeks as Spaces for OPUS 281
attracting major events to the city. Mostly Göteborg & Co. only has a supporting role in
the latter. However, the Science Festival is one of two events that they actually
organise themselves, with a staff of four people working full time to draw in necessary
funds and implement the festival.
In implementing the Science Festival in Göteborg one tried to imitate the simplicity,
creativity and sense of excitement from Edinburgh. A major difference, however, was
that in Edinburgh events cost money, in Göteborg almost all attractions were to be free
of charge. The basic idea was to have two programmes, one for schools and one for
the general public. To attend the school programme, there was an initial charge. The
public programme was to be free of charge. The rationale for this lay in their outlook on
target groups. Basically, the organisers wanted to reach everybody in the City. Still, the
people were divided into five different target groups. These were: academics, nonacademics,
senior citizens, students and youths. An additional target group was
children, which was automatically covered by the school programme. Extensive yearly
evaluations have shown that members of groups that rule more freely over their time
are more prone to interest – academics, senior citizens and students – are extensively
involved in the festival. The problem groups are non-academics and youths and in
order to have a good chance in attracting these groups it was necessary to have the
attractions free of charge.
There exists a necessary ambition to work with flexible concepts and rejuvenate the
Festival each year. Surveys have shown, not surprisingly, that the most popular
subjects are medicine, space and history. The Festival will thus typically revolve around
themes connecting to these. At the same time, there is a need to connect with current
events. In the year 2000 the work started with the selection of four themes. These were
communication, scientific turning points, science in everyday life, and life and medicine.
In addition, a project leader was selected for each of these. Thereafter, a general
invitation was made to researchers to give talks on subjects of their own choice.
Contributions coming in this way that could not fit into the themes were instead put
under the heading of a fifth theme: Elementary and extraordinary.
To take care of the logistics, some 80 students are recruited and trained into working
as festival hosts. They serve as guides and see to it that the attractions work smoothly,
checking equipment and so on.
Some of the most interesting activities at the Festival should be noted. In the middle of
the central shopping complex of Göteborg, the festival sets up a scene, which features
the “academic quarter”. Here, researchers are invited to attract crowds in a 15-minute
talk. Usually, this is a condensed version of a full talk that is scheduled later at some
other place. This is thus a vehicle for trying to get new people into visiting new places.
Many researchers shy away from this scene, perceiving it as both unserious and
unsettling. Many however have found it a refreshingly relaxed experience. In the first