Media Room Information – Background Information

5th Science Centre World Congress (5SCWC)

From June 15 to 19 2008, Canada’s Ontario Science Centre will be hosting the World Congress of Science Centres in Toronto. This will be only the fifth time that senior decision makers from science centres and museums around the world will meet in this forum and the first time the event will be held in North America. Over a thousand delegates, observers and journalists are expected to attend the Congress.

The World Congress of Science Centres began in 1996 in Finland following an initiative by the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology Exhibitions. It was the first effort to bring together science centre leaders from all over the world to discuss collaboration and to provide an opportunity for professional interchange and international networking.

Now twelve years later, the 5SCWC will welcome senior leaders and decision makers from science centres and museums around the globe to discuss emerging trends and the role of science centres in creating the future. The themes of Planet Earth and social responsibility will also be explored. A final declaration of trends and findings from the Congress will be issued at its conclusion.

The chair of the 5SCWC is Lesley Lewis, the CEO of the Ontario Science Centre and President of the Washington, DC-based Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC). Ms. Lewis, a leader in the science centre industry, has dramatically transformed her own institution through a multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative themed Agents of Change. The banner ‘Science Centres As Agents of Change – Locally, Nationally and Internationally’ now defines the mandate of the upcoming World Congress.

With three major keynote speakers, two plenaries, some 50 parallel sessions and a variety of special events to choose from, the 5SCWC will inspire and motivate anyone with a passion for science communications, an interest in public engagement in science and a desire to meet science centre leaders from around the world.

In addition to hosting and sharing ideas with Congress participants, the Ontario Science Centre will be showcasing the major transformation of more than one-third of its exhibition space including the 25,000 sq. ft. Weston Family Innovation Centre – the first venue in Toronto designed specifically for teens and young adults. Another special feature timed to open for Congress is Facing Mars – Would You Survive the Journey? – the Science Centre’s newest exhibition focusing on the challenges to be overcome if we are to send humans to Mars and explore its surface.
 
Speakers for two of the three keynote sessions at the 5SCWC have been confirmed. Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit leader, a climate change activist and a nominee for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize will join Dr. Mohamed H. Hassan to address the Congress on the topic of “Planet Earth – Living on it, Changing it, Sustaining it.”

Dr. Hassan is president of the African Academy of Sciences and is the Executive Director of the Academy of Sciences of the Third World of Scientific Organizations. He is an expert on wind erosion and sand transport. 

Jennifer Corriero, Co-Founder and Executive Director of TakingItGlobal, will be the keynote speaker under the sub-theme of the Role of Science Centres in Creating the Future. Ms Corriero is an alumnus of the Ontario Science Centre Science School and has been named as a World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow. Her group, TakingItGlobal, is an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities.

The Congress itself will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As well, there will be tours and conference events at the Ontario Science Centre and behind the scenes tours at the Royal Ontario Museum and MaRS discovery district. There is also an optional day and a half program following the Congress at Science North in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

In hosting the World Congress, the Ontario Science Centre has made a strong commitment to environmental sustainability by presenting a Green Congress. Every effort is being made to reduce waste and protect the environment and human health.

There will be a “green” levy on all delegates registering at the Congress to purchase carbon emission offsets. The Congress’s main meeting centre has an aggressive waste reduction program and energy-efficient electric and heating systems. It is centrally located within walking distance to many hotels and public transportation.

As much as possible the Internet will be used to disseminate information, including media accreditation, registration and press kits.

Keynote Speakers

Jennifer Corriero
Sub-theme: Role of Science Centres in the Future
Monday, June 16

Stephen Lewis
Sub-theme: Citizen Engagement – Increasing Engagement with Science and World Issues … Social Responsibility
Tuesday, June 17

Mohamed H.A. Hassan
Sub-theme: Planet Earth – Living On it, Changing It, Sustaining It: The Role of Science Centres
Wednesday, June 18

Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Sub-theme: Planet Earth – Living On it, Changing It, Sustaining It: The Role of Science Centres
Wednesday, June 18