Τhe Athens Science Festival, one of the biggest celebrations of science and technology in Greece, is taking place this year on a digital form, from March 27 to 29, 2021, broadcasting live from the “Technopolis” Cultural Center. The theme of this year’s festival is the “era of heroes” shedding light to the modern heroes of science that, during the pandemic, are using their “superpowers”, and are struggling to expand the boundaries of human knowledge in order to provide solutions for the benefit of society. With no doubt scientists are the protagonists of our time.
The aim of the festival is to communicate science to the wider public giving people the opportunity to explore science in fun, innovative and interactive ways through presentations by teachers, distinguished scientists, artists and performers. Since its launch in 2014, the Athens Science Festival every year connects science with everyday life and promotes the role of science in society presenting high quality scientific research carried out in Greece, looking for answers to complex questions and debating controversial scientific issues.
This year, apart from the most recent developments in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, the relationship between science and art will also be examined exploring what Artificial Intelligence has in common with jazz music and how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected creativity and experimentation.
Online visitors will not be mere spectators of the action but will have the opportunity to intervene online, thus turning the festival into a digital, multidimensional scientific event, an interactive meeting point, accessible to all, wherever they are. Through live speeches, participatory experiential workshops, impressive demonstration experiments, and other innovative digital actions, the public will have the opportunity to get to know some of the most distinguished scientists worldwide coming from Greece, America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, and Ukraine.
Distinguished speakers and a jazz concert…
According to the program, during the 3 days of the festival 60 slots of online events will be organized with 100 demonstration experiments, chemistry shows and documentaries. 50 speakers -including 3 Nobel Prize winners- from 8 countries will participate in the festival such as:
2003 Nobel laureate in Chemistry Peter Agre, a renowned professor, and director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Malaria Research, will talk about the importance of expanding the potential of medicine in the progress and evolution of humanity in his speech “Shaping a Better World through Medicine”.
Constantinos Daskalakis, the world-renowned professor of computer science at MIT will talk about the reasons that Artificial Intelligence fails analyzing the foundations of Machine Learning.
Susan Schneider, an internationally renowned academic, distinguished philosopher, will talk about “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the Mind”, will discuss the philosophical implications of technology and, in particular, the attempt to reproduce consciousness by artificial means.
The famous doctor and professor of Physiology at the University of Maastricht, Mark Post, will present an innovative and environmentally friendly alternative to the way beef is produced in his speech “Delicious burger from … stem cells!”
Arthur Miller, emeritus Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at University College London, one of the world’s most insightful thinkers about the intersection of art and science, will discuss the critical issue of developing creativity through artificial intelligence.
Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff, Research Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham will present a different way to study and understand the periodic table giving rise to new ideas and stimulating new thinking through looking at something from a new perspective.
Award-winning British filmmaker, Elena Andreicheva will talk about the role of documentaries as a way to understand science and technology during a special discussion titled ‘Science Communication via Documentaries’.
Dimitri Vassilakis, the world-renowned, charismatic saxophonist, professor, and researcher of the Athens Kapodistrian University will give a pioneering concert with the title “Jazz improvisation and AI interaction” that will not only entertain but also demonstrate new applications of A.I. technology.
The Athens Science Festival is being organized in partnership with the educational organization Science Communication – SciCo, Technopolis City of Athens, the British Council, the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and GSRI (General Secretariat for Research and Innovation), in collaboration with a variety of academic, research and educational institutions, under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Governance . Strategic partner is the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY).
For more info about the program (27-29/23/2021) and tickets, visit the Athens Science Festival website: https://www.athens-science-festival.gr/en/
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TAGS: INNOVATION | SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
