European Researchers Night in BiH: 7th Annual Festival of Science

Thousands of citizens gathered in 10 cities across the country for the fun scientific night in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Bijeljina, Goražde, Tuzla, Zenica, Konjic, Trebinje and Brčko, and participated in rich educational and entertainment programmes prepared to bring science and innovation closer to visitors, present scientific achievements and results, and spark the imagination with various interactive experiments, presentations, quizzes, projections and entertainment games for all ages.

European Researchers Night, the annual event dedicated to celebration of science and scientific achievements, organized in 340 cities across Europe, is being celebrated in BiH for the 7th year in a row, in 10 cities across the country.

Chargé d’Affairs a.i. of the EU Delegation to BiH, Khaldoun Sinno, welcomed the participants during the opening ceremony and underlined that events like European Researchers Night prove that science is not only important but that it can also be interesting and fun: “I want you to come back to school on Monday and tell your friends, colleagues and teachers what you have learned and I want you all to become a little bit of a scientist, now and in your future,” said Sinno.

The EU Info Centre, together with its regional offices in Mostar, Banja Luka, Brčko and Tuzla, hosted the presentation of young STEM innovators, students of the School of Electro-technical Engineering in Sarajevo, who participated in the First Global Challenge, and Robokids from Banja Luka who promoted the importance of STEM education and their own innovative robots. All visitors to the EU Info Centre stands could take part in interactive quizzes about the European Union and the European Year of Cultural Heritage, through which they were reminded of and learned new, fun facts about common European cultural heritage and values.

Traditionally, European Researchers Night is organised on the last Friday in September, in order to change the usual, routine Friday night out, and dedicate it to interactive experiments, workshops, quizzes and lectures, all in an effort to promote science and engage young people in consideration of a career in science.

The slogan of this year’s event is “Let’s STEAM! Kreirajmo nove prilike”, in celebration of the creative side of science, as well as the creative process implied by scientific work. STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, and the European Researchers Night is an opportunity to meet and get to know extraordinary people who work in these areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Europa.ba