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NANOYOU kicks off to engage with european youth about nanotechnology

By 29 de April de 2009November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 29.04.2009

NANOYOU kicks off to engage with european youth about nanotechnology

The partners of the new European science communication project NANOYOU met in Tel Aviv, Israel April 27th-28th to kick off its educational programs to inform young people about nanotechnology. NANOYOU is primarily funded by the European Commission and is coordinated by ORT Israel. Other partners involved in different areas of the project include: Barcelona Science Park in Spain, EUN Partnership AISBL(European Schoolnet), The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge in the UK, Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, The Centre for Social Innovation from Austria, ARTTIC Israel Company dealing with the project's management and in France the Centre de Culture Scientifique Technique et Industrielle in Grenoble and La Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie.


Nanotechnology (“NT”) is the development and application of materials and processes at the “nanoscale” of individual molecules. Some NT applications have already emerged, while others are still under development. NT will impact the lives of every citizen so people should be aware of its benefits along with possible harmful effects. However, recent surveys show lack of understanding and knowledge of NT by the public. This is partially due to the fact that school curricula do not yet cover the subject adequately.

The aim of NANOYOU is to inform European youth about nanotechnologies and to promote dialogue about their ethical, legal and social implications. Only by being informed will European citizens be able to contribute positively to future decision-making on the use of NT.

The target audience of the project is children and young adults 11-25 years old. A variety of programs with relevant messages, tools and approaches will be designed for the separate educational needs and capabilities of each age. School programs will be designed to reach young people 11-18 years old and their teachers in at least 20 EU Member States and Associated States, while the program for 19-25 year olds will be developed in Science Centres.

Nanotechnology is a broad field, but NANOYOU will focus on three topical sub-areas: medicine, energy and environment, along with information and communication technology. This will enable the programs to focus on problems important to young peoples´ daily lives, rather than attempting to cover all issues involving NT.

NANOYOU will combine temporary exhibitions, workshops, virtual games, experiments and other online content, including virtual dialogues and a virtual exhibition with simulations, animations and virtual experiments. The content will be balanced and up-to-date, and educational training materials will be prepared to equip science teachers and other personnel who participate in the program.

The project will evolve over the next two years and aims to reach a wide audience of more than 25.000 students through the participation of schools and more than 4.000 young adults through the activities at the Science Centres.