At EGU we take our science seriously, but we also value creativity and the role it plays in all aspects of being a researcher, from designing your study to science communication! The upcoming EGU22 General Assembly offers plenty of creativity in every way, shape and form! If you’re keen to indulge your creative side or curious about the possible intersections between science and art, look no further.
This blog lists some of our unique (and highly anticipated) creativity-based sessions at EGU22. So browse through and make sure to add at least a few of these to your conference calendar!
EGU22 Photo Competition: new and old photos welcome
The twelfth annual EGU photo competition is open for submissions. And if you’re wondering, winners receive free registration to next year’s General Assembly! Until 14 April, every participant registered for the General Assembly can submit up to three original photos and one moving image on any broad theme related to the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. The best part? You can enter photos that are recent or from previous years! For more information, visit the EGU Photo Competition page on Imaggeo. You can also check out all of the 2010 to 2021 winners here.
Exploring the Art-Science Interface: learning new ways to connect
Today, collaboration between artists and geoscientists is becoming increasingly invaluable to communicate complex geoscience subjects to non-experts. There is mounting evidence that science-art collaborations can play a vital role by co-creating new ways of research and stimulating the discussion by offering an emotional and human context through the arts. EGU22 has a number of interesting sessions and presentations that touch on this theme, which hope to explore the many possibilities of science and art collaboration. The main session focused on this topic, is EOS1.2 Exploring the Art-Science Interface, so make sure you check it out and add it to your conference calendar!
Rhyme Your Research: science to poetry
Did you know that poetry can be an effective tool in communicating science to a broader audience? It encourages writers to condense their research in an accessible manner and in doing so, helps readers’ long-term retention of scientific content! The extremely popular SC3.8 Rhyme Your Research short course returns again in 2022 to share how a little poetry can make your science more accessible for everyone: your colleagues, your family and your friends! Participants will have the opportunity to work on poems that communicate their research, and will be provided with advice to make them more effective and engaging. You may even get the chance to perform some of it!
Reach more people: turn your abstract into a vlog
As a scientist, you may be immensely passionate about your research abstract, but how can you share the motivation and emotions behind your work with a wider audience? Maybe you can get creative and turn your abstract into a one minute video blog (or vlog)! The SC3.9 How to turn your Abstract into a Vlog? short course shows you how to draw out key elements from your abstract to build a plot that hooks your audience. During this two-hour short course, participants record a short story with their phone using objects in their surroundings that are related to their abstract. The group will provide you meaningful feedback and you get to take home your first vlog to share via social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
EGUart: celebrate new forms of science communication
One of the many highlights of EGU’s General Assembly is the annual Artist in Residence programme. It offers scientist-artists an opportunity to engage with scientific research in a dynamic setting and be inspired by the many new discoveries presented at the conference. This year our two Artists in Residence are Jakub Stepanovic and Kelly Stanford – why not reach out to them to discuss possible collaboration during the week?! They will be available to attendees who are participating both on-site and virtually, so there is nothing stopping you from making a connection with them! EGU22 participants will be able to see images of the artwork produced by artists via our official social media channels (using the hashtag #EGUart), on the EGU GeoLog blog and live at the conference centre. If you’re curious about the last few years’ Artists in and (not) in Residence, visit our Youtube playlist and EGU’s GeoLog blogs.
We hope this list has inspired you to add some of these creative options when you plan your EGU22 conference experience. More detailed information on each of these events will be shared in upcoming blog posts, closer to the meeting. If you wish to browse through other sessions, we recommend a visit to the EGU22 Programme page. Choose “Please Select” and then pick your category of interest on the session programme page. Good luck and happy browsing!
