Café Scientifique currently exists in more than 60 towns and cities across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and world-wide. It was the idea of Duncan Dallas, from Leeds, who was impressed by the Café Philosophique session he saw in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Café Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Meetings take place in cafes, bars, restaurants and even theatres, but always outside a traditional academic context. The

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

has helped popularise Café Scientifique in several countries around the globe. Events tend to be independently run by local organisers in many cities using variations of the "Café Scientifique" or "Science Café" name.

Format

Typically, one monthly evening meeting is organised in a non-academic space such as a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

or bar to which one or several scientists are invited to talk about their work in a topical or even controversial area. In Britain, most cafes follow a simple format in which the speaker introduces the topic, typically for 15–20 minutes, then there is a short break, followed by a longer period of questions and discussion. Typically, speakers do not use presentation software. Cafés aim to engage people in a conversation about the issues in science and technology that affect our lives and promote the cultural examination of science. Cafés are known for their informal and friendly atmosphere, and are believed to improve the image of scientists and careers in science. In Britain there is usually one speaker, in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

there are two (one non-scientist) and in France often four (as well as a band in the interval). In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, society demands more respect should be shown to older people and those in positions of authority, so questions and opinions are sent by SMS onto a big screen, so that no one knows the age of the commentator. In Africa topics are down-to-earth – how to live with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

, avoid

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

or understand water purification – and empower non-scientists to more comfortably and accurately assess science and technology issues, particularly those that impact on social policy making.

History

The first Café Scientifique in the UK was organised by Duncan Dallas in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in 1998, but is based on the Café Philosophique movement which the philosopher Marc Sautet (1947–1998) started in France in 1992. In the same year, the first café was started in France. In the UK, most cafés are run by volunteer organisers but this varies in other countries. In the UK, most cafés do not receive any institutional or government funding; many pay the speaker's travelling expenses by asking for donations from the audience. So cafés provide the opportunity for individuals and groups to experiment with different forms of engagement – street science, comedy, music, theatrical readings, dancing, demonstration, etc. In the UK in the late 90s, COPUS, the

Committee on the Public Understanding of Science The Committee on the Public Understanding of Science or Copus was founded in 1985 by the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS), the Royal Institution and the Royal Society. Copus came about as a result of the 'Bodmer Report' by ...

(organised by the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scienc ...

), thought that the public did not understand science and needed to be better educated and lectured to. Newspapers considered it very odd that people should go to a café, drink wine and discuss science rather than just gossip. However the public were becoming more concerned about topics such as

Mad Cow Disease Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...

GM crops Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of ''Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of se ...

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...

, etc. As the context has changed since the late 90s, Café Scientifique has responded to the move from Public Understanding through Science Communication to Public Engagement with Research. When it started Café Scientifique was considered odd and avant-garde, however the format has since been embraced by academic disciplines, government departments, research institutes, politicians, educators and policy makers. Between 2003 and 2005, Café Scientifique in the UK received grant funding from the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

. The Trust later supported a project to support cafés in UK schools (Junior Café Scientifique) and in schools in Uganda. Pupils were encouraged to choose the subjects they would like to discuss, and to organise, advertise and chair the cafés. There have been efforts to take cafés beyond towns and cities – to the countryside (such as

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

in the US and

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

(UK), to islands (

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

in Greece and

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

in Scotland), to politically sensitive areas (

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

) and to under-served communities (ethnic minority communities in the UK and

gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

communities in Hungary).

Philosophy

Although Café Scientifique is an idea rather than a particular place, the location is considered important to keep the atmosphere conversational rather than lecture-style. Cafés are relaxed, in contrast with a more formal lecture hall setting and everyone attending is given equal respect. The aim of the Café Scientifique is, according to author and

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...

"to bring science back into culture". Whereas science is often seen as boring, difficult and mathematical, the aim of the Café Scientifique is to make science relevant, powerful and important, addressing topics such as the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

gene mapping Gene mapping or genome mapping describes the methods used to identify the location of a gene on a chromosome and the distances between genes. Gene mapping can also describe the distances between different sites within a gene. The essence of all ...

and how our brains function.

Current developments

The Internet has supported the expansion of cafés. The main website provides support for new organisers around the world and individual cafés are using their websites to expand their audience and prolong the discussion. In

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, a recent development is 'Campfires and Science' – built on the same principles, but gathering people around the familiar setting of a campfire to learn, share ideas and get involved in doing science. By organising trips into the forest and other wilderness area, the movement hopes to bridge the gap between metropolitan areas and rural areas by encouraging the public to get involved in doing science themselves, such as surveying species and mapping using drones.

References

External links