Festival aims to raise city's scientific literacy
Shanghai has set up a think tank to promote science to the public.
Science promotion is being given more prominence in Shanghai as the city progresses to become a global innovation hub.
During the ongoing 2022 Shanghai Science Festival, a think tank was established to collect opinions from officials, educators and scientists to raise scientific literacy in the city.
According to Shanghai Deputy Mayor Liu Duo, scientific literacy plays an increasingly important role in boosting the city's competitiveness.
At present, scientific literacy in Shanghai tops the nation at 24.3 percent. In Shanghai, an average of 80,000 people own a science site, which is at the world-leading level, statistics show.
However, more efforts are needed to further spruce up the city's image as a global innovation hub, Liu said. She pointed out the importance of strengthening international cooperation and upgrading current science venues with AI, metaverse and more cutting-edge technologies.
Liu Jian, deputy director of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, shares his views on science promotion in the Yangtze River Delta region after a regional science promotion alliance was established.
Under Shanghai's initiative, an alliance to promote science in the Yangtze River Delta region was also established.
It consists of the Shanghai Institute for Science of Science; three museums – Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Zhejiang Natural History Museum, Hefei Science and Technology Museum; and eight universities including Shanghai's Fudan University, Zhejiang's Zhejiang University and Jiangsu's Nanjing University.
The members will share resources and work together to help build the Yangtze River Delta region into a new innovation community.
Shanghai has rich science promotion history and resources, said Liu Jian, deputy director of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.
"We hope to find answers to how to promote science, what can we do to promote science and how can we get the public to accept science," he said.
