“Since the first moments after the fire of 4 March 2013, Ecsite has rallied around their colleagues at Città della Scienza,” reads a message from Anne-Marie Bruyas, head of International Relations at Città.
Robert Firmhofer, President of Ecsite and Director of Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, Poland, and Catherine Franche, Executive Director of Ecsite, were in Naples on Tuesday, 11 March to express their solidarity with the team of Città. They saw for themselves the effects of the disastrous fire that destroyed the iconic science communication institution on 4 March.
Meetings were held to start planning a coordinated rebuilding effort from among the Ecsite network.
A press conference was held with the Ecsite representatives at 15.30 CET on 11 March.
View the press conference at the bottom of this page:
www.cittadellascienza.it/notizie/i-vertici-dei-musei-scientifici-europei-esprimono-solidarieta-a-citta-della-scienza-martedi-12-marzo/
Transcript of press conference
Robert Firmhofer, President, Ecsite
Good afternoon. I’m very sorry to meet you at this tragic and difficult situation. As you know, we at Ecsite represent almost 400 organizations – science centres and science museums all over Europe and internationally. We are here together with Catherine Franche to show you that the European community of science centres and science museums is with you.
Europe was shocked by what we saw last week. Now we are showing you sympathy and solidarity. And Europe is willing to assist you in rebuilding. We at Ecsite, as friends of Città, have received an enormous number of emails, letters and messages with sympathy from all over the world. I can tell you I have never experienced – even being part of Ecsite for a couple of years – this kind of organization. And it’s not just organization – through our web pages and social media, we reach an enormous number of European citizens who also expressed their shock and sympathy.
Città is important for Europe because it is regarded as a leading science centre – not just in terms of quality, but also of being a leader, of bringing European dimensions to scientific culture. Just four years ago, Città della Scienza was president of Ecsite. Città coordinated a big number of European projects, bringing together different organizations all over Europe in this effort to engage communities better with science communication and engage in scientific culture.
As you know, science centres today are not just exhibitions and do not just present natural phenomena in an interactive way. Science centres inspire their visitors, help them to learn and to explore the world, but also empower them and engage visitors in whole communities. Science centres are agents of change – change for the better, to change to use research better for development and for progress.
Let me tell you about a question that I happened to hear last year in the United States. There is a very interesting programme for leaders in the field globally which is organized by Noyce Leadership Institute in the United States. And at the very beginning of the programme, the organizers asked the provoking question: “what if your museum of science centre burnt? Who would care?” So, you are the answer. With the demonstration on Sunday that shows that you are deeply rooted in the community, that the community needs you. So, I think that is a very good starting point, in this very difficult situation, to build again a new Città. Thank you.
Catherine Franche, Executive Director, Ecsite
To those I know, and to those of you I don’t know – I am the Director of Ecsite since 2006, but my first experience with Ecsite was at a conference in 2000 – the conference of Ecsite that you hosted here at Città. And I’m a bit emotional.
I came here, not really to say this and to show this, but mostly because you can’t imagine the messages we’ve received at Ecsite from all over – even people in the States who say, “what can I do, I’ve heard about that”. My job here is to harvest that energy – to collect that energy and match it with yours. I want to take the ideas, the objects, the expertise that my network is saying, “can we offer it to Città?” And I want to listen to your creativity, to your ideas, to your staying alive. I am extremely surprised; you are all already looking forward, so I just hope to be able to match that.
We don’t know exactly how this will translate – we came to set this up. It could be objects, it could be events, it could be symposiums, seminars, conferences – you will be at Ecsite at the conference. I am here today physically, but we will be working together for the coming months. I would also like to say that my team wrote to say we are physically in Brussels, but our hearts have been with you for ten days and we are extremely moved by what happened.
Just as a last word: It’s always difficult to know how we are perceived by others. At science centres we don’t have a big mirror where we can say “ah, this is who I am,” but you have to know that Città della Scienza represents a lighthouse for the field. You’ve always been – I’m not sure everyone knows this – but you’ve always been carrying the field of science centres forward. And so you are still a lighthouse and you are by the sea and so we will look at the light and never at the darkness.