Dublin beats Vienna to land prestigious “European City of Science” title for 2012
Dublin beats Vienna to land prestigious “European City of Science” title for 2012
Date: 25 November 2008
Euroscience, Europe's pre-eminent grass-roots science organisation headquartered in Strasbourg has today announced Dublin as winner of the open competition to host Euroscience Open Forum 2012. This follows Dublin's year-long campaign characterised by tremendous local commitment and international support. Over 50 members of a Steering Committee representing the public sector, universities, research institutes as well as business and industry came together in a unique partnership to make it happen under the stewardship of the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, Professor Patrick Cunningham.
Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Jimmy Devins TD; Euroscience Secretary-General, Dr Raymond Seltz; The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Eibhlin Byrne; and Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA), Professor Patrick Cunningham at the handing over of Dublin's proposal to host Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) 2012 in Strasbourg, France on 22 September, 2008.
Subsequently, a pitching team comprising the Lord Mayor; Prof. Cunningham; Science Foundation Ireland Director-General, Prof. Frank Gannon; Senior Research Officer in the CSA's Office, Dr. Eamonn Cahill; and Senior Executive of the ESOF 2012 Bid, Aidan Gilligan travelled to Stuttgart, Germany on 13 November to present the proposal before an independent panel of 10 high-level European experts chaired by Dr Gail Cardew, Vice President of Euroscience.
Local commitment
The local commitment to deliver ESOF 2012 Dublin to the highest standards of organisation and impact is exceptional. The Irish Government has endorsed the bid and committed significant financial support. The City of Dublin, through its Mayor and Council, is totally engaged. The business and industrial sector is fully on-board, and to date, 90 leading companies have signed up as supporters. The academic and scientific community, through its universities, organisations, and particularly the Royal Irish Academy, is fully engaged. The grass-roots of Dublin life, through its tourist operators, museums, and transport bodies have been fully involved.
International support
The proposal to host ESOF 2012 in Dublin has widespread support across the world. Dublin is proud to announce the support of 18 eminent European and international Nobel Laureates, scientists, politicians, captains of industry and public figures drawn from 12 countries - Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Egypt, France, India, Ireland, Poland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the USA.
Minister Jimmy Devins TD, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation hailed the decision as recognition of the great strides that Ireland has made in the area of science technology and innovation.
Minister Devins added “this successful bid will provide a platform to showcase the best of science and research being carried out in Ireland across all disciplines, whether it is led by indigenous or international partners. We will at that stage be towards the end of our massive NDP investment in Research and Development. As a gateway to the world we will also be able to draw on an unrivalled network of international experts to help take the Euro Science Open Forum to the next level. It is a unique opportunity at home to promote the value of investing in science with true consequence for the daily life of the citizen. It will also showcase modern Dublin to our European and International partners.’’
Lord Mayor Byrne said "This event will allow us to showcase the best of Irish science and will make Dublin a living ‘science lab’ which can only encourage our young people into science. We must also further strengthen our links with the world's biggest names in innovation already based here and who played their full part in bringing this bid together, such as Google, Intel, Microsoft and Wyeth. The selection panel were clearly impressed by our proposed facilities and the scientific and technological advances that are being made in Dublin right now."
Chief Scientific Adviser and ESOF 2012 Dublin Champion, Prof. Patrick Cunningham commented, "We left no stone unturned and went about this from day one with great energy, vision and professionalism. The heart of ESOF 2012 Dublin will be its innovative scientific programme. We have no no-go areas. While being utterly serious about science, our event philosophy is one of science serving society. We want the citizens of Dublin and Ireland to get involved. We have also given much thought to constructing parallel public outreach, media and marketing, and business and careers programmes that will bring the impact of ESOF 2012 to a new level, in Dublin, throughout Europe and to the world at large. We are simply delighted to have won. It has been a Trojan effort with lots of challenges along the way but we remained focussed and got there in the end.”
Prof. Cunningham added, "We were fully aware that Vienna is a fantastic city with a renowned scientific pedigree and a lot to offer. But we were equally confident that if we maximised our particular strengths and challenged head-on some of our perceived weaknesses, such as accessibility, that we would have an excellent chance. We built up so much momentum and good will from our Steering Committee and promotional events held in Brussels, Barcelona and Dublin that it would have been heartbreaking not to see it through to a successful conclusion in Stuttgart. I can't thank enough the too many names to mention who have been involved in this process, but you know who you are and I look forward to your continued support to deliver on the promise we have made to Euroscience and its membership.”
Background Information
Dublin's proposal has been crafted since March 2008 by effectively the human power-house of the scientific, academic and industrial establishment of Ireland. Over 50 stakeholders, drawn from all sectors of society, came together under the stewardship of the Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Patrick Cunningham and Senior Executive of the Bid, Aidan Gilligan.
The proposal was presented before an independent ten-member selection panel at the Robert Bosch Foundation in Stuttgart, Germany on Wednesday 13 November.
The process of preparing the proposal raised significant awareness about the activities of Euroscience in Ireland and at promotional events held in Brussels, Barcelona and Dublin.
Science Foundation Ireland and The Royal Dublin Society have become corporate members while a significant number of individuals have independently joined.
Plans are underway to create an Irish Chapter of Euroscience open to all interested parties.
Dublin’s aim is to attract 8,000 Irish and international delegates while engaging 50,000 citizens in a truly Olympics of European Research style event from 12-16 July, 2012.
The third edition of this bi-annual festival was held from 18 - 22 July in Barcelona where 4,000 participants took part and the 2010 edition will be held in Turin.