Inquiries – 14,000 questions collected during the Ideas Run

27th April 2022 — The Ideas Run, the central participatory campaign in the Year of Science 2022, has reached its goal: In this participatory format, which draws on the ideas and interests of the public, citizens formulated and submitted around 14,000 questions from all scientific fields by the 15th April. According to initial evaluations, there were many contributions in particular to the topical area of the universe, climate and the environment, followed by the complex of medicine, care and health. The questions are now being discussed, bundled and further processed by a panel of scientists and randomly selected citizens, so that a dialogue between researchers and the citizenry is created. A resulting outcome paper will be handed over to policy-makers and academia in autumn 2022 and is intended to provide important impulses for future research and possible research projects.

Citizen participation under the motto "In demand!"

The IdeenLauf is the central participatory event in the Year of Science 2022, which has the motto "In demand!". Through an intensive dialogue between the civilian population and science, each and every individual has the opportunity to actively help shape new perspectives for research and research policy - a unique opportunity for citizen participation and a first in the history of the Year of Science. Instead of being offered contributions on a specific topic, it is in the hands of citizens to fill the various formats with life and to use their creative potential to engage in an open but also critical exchange with the research community. National, local and regional formats invite active participation. Once again, the floating exhibition ship MS Wissenschaft will also go on a nationwide tour. For eight- to twelve-year-olds, the "forscher-Magazin" is to be published again. Anyone who still has questions for the scientific community can continue to ask them – although they will no longer be included in the results paper, they will be answered by experts as best they can.

DLR-PT is an important partner

Since 2000, the Year of Science has been organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the "Science in Dialogue" initiative. DLR-PT, with its Science Communication Competence Centre, coordinates and organises the numerous partners, who set their own accents with their projects, events and initiatives, supervises the funded projects and manages the entire campaign. "For us, the task this year is particularly exciting because we are guided by the people's questions instead of prescribing a theme as usual," explains Stefanie Dorsch from DLR-PT's Science Communication Office. "We want to open up spaces for dialogue and contribute to a better understanding between science and the public. All citizens are called upon to get actively involved in the Science Year 2022." Research facilities and other institutions can register at redaktionsbuero@wissenschaftsjahr.de – the larger the network, the better the questions from the public can be answered.