Science Cafés

Since 2006, the Dynasty Foundation and the InformNauka Agency have held a series of regular Science Cafés that bring together scientists and journalists for discussions of the most pressing issues in contemporary science.

A 'Genes and Nationality' science cafe, Moscow, 2007

The topics of these discussions are wide-ranging: the energy crisis, nanotechnology, problems of aging, the colonization of Mars, genetics and ethnic identity, global warming, and the future of cell phone communications.

The first Science Café—“Can the Brain Be Controlled?”—took place at the Birds and Fishes Café Club in Moscow on June 22, 2006. Journalists were joined by such researchers of the brain as Sviatoslav Medvedev (Institute of the Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg), Sergei Enikolopov (Mental Health Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences), Konstantin Anokhin (Institute of Normal Physiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences), Yuri Alexandrov (Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences), and Tatyana Chernigovskaya (Saint Petersburg State University).

The Science Cafés are moderated by Liubov Strelnikov, editor-in-chief, InformNauka Agency, and Sergei Katasonov, journalist, Radio Mayak.

Over the course of these cafés, a quasi club has formed that brings together approximately sixty journalists from various Moscow-based periodicals. This club includes both veteran journalists (such as Viola Egikova, head of the Russian Association of Science Journalists) and rookies.

The Science Cafés are held both in Moscow and Russia's regions, where they take place as part of our Science Days festivals.