Programme

17:30 – 18:30, Hall Cosmos in Association with А1

Digital Humanism and Knowledge Institutions

In this lecture Director of the Vienna City Library and philosopher Anita Eichinger will share the basics of Digital Humanism. The Manifesto for Digital Humanism, which was adopted at TU Wien in 2019, aims to put people in the centre of digital transformation and ensure that technology is used in accordance with ethical and moral principles. One of the biggest challenges in this context is the loss of trust in facts and truths. In this context, libraries play an important role, serving as guardians of knowledge and truth. Libraries can help facilitate access to information and ensure that facts and truths are accessible to all. In addition, libraries can act as key players in promoting media literacy and critical thinking.

This event will be in English, simultaneous translation will be available.
In partnership with the Austrian Embassy.

16:30 – 17:30 ч., Hall Ocean in association with Mr. Bricolage
recording, in English

Humans are mammals, as are more than 6000 other animals, ranging from mice and bats to elephants and whales. In this talk, palaeontologist Steve Brusatte tells the story of mammal evolution, a 325-million-year journey that saw our ancestors persevere in the shadow of the dinosaurs, survive the worst day in the history of Earth, and then rapidly diversity and claim the world as their own. In telling this story, Brusatte — a professor at the University of Edinburgh and the palaeontology consultant for the film Jurassic World: Dominion–reveals the new fossil finds and technologies that are allowing us to understand the evolution of mammals in unprecedented detail. As part of this talk, Brusatte will unveil the new Bulgarian translation of his popular science book “The Rise and Reign of the Mammals”, which follows on from his earlier book “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs”, which he presented to the Sofia Science Festival to great fanfare in 2019! 

And thanks to the efforts of Ciela Publishing House, “The Rise and Reign of the Mammals” will be available in Bulgarian at the Festival bookshop. After the talk join us there, grab your copy and get in line for Steve’s personal dedication to you! 

This event is in English, simultaneous translation into Bulgarian will be available.
In partnership with Ciela Publishing House and the British Council. 

18:00 – 19:00 Hall Ocean in association with Mr. Bricolage
recording

Since the release of the first images obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) almost a year ago (July 2022), this observatory is pushing the current state of knowledge from the farthest reaches of the Universe to some of the closest objects we can observe in the Solar System. The detection of the first galaxies beyond the Big Bang was the driver for the massive space telescope, but new discoveries are being made routinely now for extrasolar planets (planets around other stars beyond our solar system), star formation and evolution, and new glimpses and findings closer to home. We are seeing the Universe, Galaxy, and Solar System now with a whole new light. This presentation will highlight some of the new discoveries already being made with Webb its first year of science. Let Dr. Stefanie Milam deputy project scientist for planetary science at JWST guide you through the new data we are seeing.

This event will be in English, simultaneous translation into Bulgarian will be available.
In partnership with the Embassy of USA.

12:00 – 13:00 Hall Ocean in association with Mr. Bricolage
recording, in English

Ageing seems inevitable, but can we slow the process down, or even reverse it? A single change to the DNA of a nematode worm can double its lifespan; mice fed less than normal can live 50% longer; and some creatures never seem to age at all. Are these hints that this seemingly fundamental process could be flexible? And could this one day lead to real anti-ageing medicine? Explore with Andrew Steele, the British physicist who switched fields to computational biology to seek for answers to the greatest challenges of human life.

This event is in English, simultaneous translation into Bulgarian will be available.
In partnership with Ciela Publishing House and The Sofia Globe.

15:00 – 16:00, Hall Ocean in association with Mr. Bricolage

Perhaps there is nothing more mysterious in the human body than the brain. What does modern science know about the brain? How comprehensive is this knowledge? How does the brain work when we are awake and asleep? What is optogenetics and is it possible to control the brain and behavior with the help of light? All these questions will be answered by Ukrainian neuroscientists Pavel Belan and Nana Voitenko.

This event is in English, simultaneous translation into Bulgarian will be available.
In partnership with the Embassy of Ukraine and the STEM IS FEM project https://stemisfem.org