FIC.A

Making Science

Music. Cinema. Sports. Gastronomic Experiences. Exhibitions. And lots of Science.

This is Major Tom to ground control

The first edition of FIC.A – International Science Festival took place from October 12 to 17, 2021, in Oeiras. It was the first major festival held in Portugal after COVID.

Different and adapted programming throughout the day – primary school education in the morning and secondary school education in the afternoon and the public in evening. Over six days, the event welcomed 40,000 people, including 20,000 students.

As part of the OEIRAS27 program, this first edition of the International Science Festival promoted the value of scientific culture. Its mission was to bring citizens closer to science and scientists, and to raise scientific literacy to help educate a more informed public.

From the vast programme throughout the week, in the Marquês de Pombal Gardens and Palace in Oeiras, the presence of international speakers stood out, such as Canadian Timothy Caulfield, Irish author Barry Fitzgerald, North American author Amy Stewart, Olympic runner-up Patrícia Mamona, NASA astronaut Michael Reed Barratt, musician Noiserv, among many others.

The Challenge

An already ambitious challenge was further tested by pandemic uncertainties, pushing our competence, resilience, and team spirit to the test. We prepared 7 contingency plans – from cleaning auditoriums every 30 minutes, to crowd control measures, and the possible mandatory mask policies; There were hundreds of regulations and documents analyzed, implemented, and revised.

And with the dark cloud of possible cancellation hanging over the organisation and the hundreds of speakers and institutions. It was one of our greatest challenges, and unquestionably, a great success. And a good example of a 360-degree offer: from communication to production, every detail was coordinated in partnership with Senciência and CM Oeiras.

Making FIC.a