STRENGTHENING CANADIAN SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT THROUGH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING
Launched in November 2020, the Falling Walls Engage Hub Canada is part of an international platform led by the Falling Walls Foundation in Berlin. It aims to create new links between leading science engagers, local and regional networks, research institutions, and citizen scientists, with the goal of amplifying their collective impact across the country.
Promoting inclusion and increasing the diversity of voices in the field of science engagement and communications is Engage Hub Canada’s central priority. In addition, the Hub has a long-term goal of becoming a valuable resource—by providing networking, training, and relationship-building—for Canadians changing their communities through their innovative outreach initiatives in support of science and science-based policymaking.
Brett Hooton is serving as the inaugural Hub Manager. An Advisory Committee oversees the work of and provides strategic guidance to Engage Hub Canada. Committee members represent the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Concordia University, Ingenium, McGill University, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Queen’s University, the Toronto Zoo, the Tri‐Agency Secretariat, the University of Calgary, the University of Saskatchewan, and Western University.
As one of nine Engage Hubs around the world, Engage Hub Canada plugs Canadian science engagers into a global community where they can learn from peers, build new partnerships, and contribute in meaningful ways toward addressing pressing global issues. The Falling Walls Engage team in Berlin and the Hub Managers around the world meet regularly to plan activities and events that will strengthen links between their regional networks and the international community of science engagers.
Image credit (above): Photo by Jackie Hutchinson on Unsplash.