Press News

Budapest, September 14, 2006

The night of September 22 will be Researchers’ Night: an event dedicated in many European countries to programs popularizing scientific research. This year Budapest and Győr will join the series of events, the principal goal of which is to raise public awareness of the importance of scientific research and make careers in research more attractive to young people. The key topic of the Hungarian Researchers’ Night will be “Protection of the Earth with the Tools of Science”; the participants will examine how the various scientific areas can promote the development of an environmentally conscious attitude in the public.

In Hungary, too, the Researchers’ Night programs will be sponsored by the European Commission, with the Tempus Public Foundation acting as coordinator, and the University of All Knowledge, the Eötvös Lorand University, the Budapest University of Technical and Economic Sciences, and the Győr Széchenyi István University contributing. The programs will be held in the buildings of the universities, in the Theater Hall of the House of the Future and – depending on the topic of the lectures – in Budapest caves, baths and on the Danube.

University of All Knowledge television broadcast from the House of the Future

Outstanding among the programs will be the television broadcast of the University of All Knowledge, which can also be followed on the Internet, and which will focus on sustainable growth by discussing such topics as natural disasters, climate change and conscious consumption. The aim of the event, to be held in the House of the Future from 6 p.m., is to give an opportunity for a lively debate between the general public, civil associations, businesses and political decision-makers active in these areas, and scientists.

On September 1 the University of All Knowledge launched quizzes, votes and forums on its home page ( www.mindentudas.hu) about the above topics. The results of the votes, the opinions given on the forums and the results of the Internet quizzes will all appear on the television broadcast. The results of the competitions invited by the Tempus Public Foundation will also be announced. During the evening viewers will see summaries of the happenings of Researchers’ Night in the different Budapest locations, as well as of the events in the House of the Future.

The moderator will be Árpád Juhász who has earned great merits during his career in bringing science close to the lay public. He has been working on various popular science programs as consultant, moderator, editor for over 45 years, and he has also made some 25 nature films.