The 4th edition of the EMME Summer School took place 27-31 October in the capital of Kuwait, where it was hosted by The Scientific Center of Kuwait (TSCK), one of the first science centers that began operating in the Middle East almost 20 years ago. With facilitators from both the NAMES and Ecsite regions, EMME 2019 featured 12 speakers and 37 participants from 8 countries. The lucky participants got to benefit from a wealth of knowledge and expertise presented in a well-structured project-based program. Stay tuned for photos and videos from the Summer School and for news about future editions.
A top quality training for science center/museum professionals!
The EMME Summer School has been established to reinforce a stronger partnership between the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean and Middle East and to support democratic transformation and institution-building, with the aim of delivering sustainable and inclusive growth and job creation.
The EMME Summer School takes place every other year in September for a duration of one week (five days); it represents both a place of debate where professionals meet to discuss common challenges, as well as a “starting event” for planning programs at the beginning of the new scholar/academic year.
The EMME Summer School is addressed to middle profile staff of existing science centers/museums and to newcomers from other organizations—universities, local authorities, associations, etc.—who want to establish new activities in the field of science communication or to develop new science centers.
The 1st edition, EMME 2013, was hosted by Parque de las Ciencias in Granada, Spain, 22–27 September 2013. Following the successful results of the first edition, the 2nd edition, EMME 2015, was hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Planetarium Science Center in Alexandria, Egypt, 5–10 September 2015. In light of the success of the first two editions, a new four-year Partnership Agreement has been signed during the Ecsite Annual Conference 2016 in Graz, Austria. The 3rd edition, EMME 2017, was hosted by Città della Scienza, Naples, Italy, 10–15 September 2017.
The EMME Summer School aims to:
- Consolidate existing science centres and museums in the Euro-Mediterranean and Middle East, their activities and programmes;
- Support the development of new science centres and museums, as well as communication projects in the region;
- Enhance science centres and museums’roles in advocacy in society, including but not limited to institutions at the national and regional levels;
- Exchange expertise, practices and activities among professionals in the field;
- Stimulate the development of cooperative projects among the members of the two networks.
Special Thanks
NAMES is immensely grateful for the continual support of
the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS)
for funding the EMME in all its previous editions.
We also thank Universcience Partenaires, one of EMME's Active Partners, for their continuous support in the form of 5 grants to 5 aspiring science center professionals from the NAMES region to benefit from EMME in each of its first three editions.