FameLab: A Talent Competition for Young Scientists

Abstract

FameLab has proven a successful model for developing young scientists as science communicators, as well as for engaging general audiences with science. Originally launched in the United Kingdom, it has transcended cultural and national barriers in nine southeast European countries where it was transferred, and is currently being tested in several more countries across Africa and Asia. It has created a multinational, cross-disciplinary, and multilingual network of young science communicators who, with the support of the Global Forum are developing science communication projects together or are simply exchanging ideas. It has demonstrated that science can generate excitement and interest in audiences of different cultural backgrounds, and that the keys toward achieving this goal are finding the right scientists, with the passion for communicating science, building their capacities, and helping them develop their communication skills further.