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2024 Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards

Thank you to all who submitted for 2024, we will be in contact very soon! 

Exclusive to Ecsite members, the Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards are the European science engagement awards that celebrate the people and organisations who demonstrate innovation, creativity and excellence.

1. Awards 2024 Categories

This year we welcome applications for The Beacon of the Year and The Excellence in Science Engagement Award.


Beacon of the Year Award - Lifetime achievement award

This award is the lifetime achievement award for science engagement professionals in Europe and is awarded to inspirational individuals who have spent a career making a difference in science engagement. This award recognises individuals who are:

      • a key figure in mobilising, guiding and empowering others
      • inspirational
      • a strategic and innovative visionary
      • significant contributors to the science engagement field


Ecsite Excellence in Science Engagement Award

The Ecsite ‘Excellence in Science Engagement Award’ rewards an activity by an Ecsite Member organisation which is creative, bold and impactful in engaging the public with scientific concepts, research, or discoveries. The activity or its outputs are shareable across the field of science engagement and considerate of todays global challenges.

An actvity can be a project, exhibition, event or other activity.

2. Prizes

Beacon of the Year Award 

The winner receives €2,500, free entry to the 2024 Ecsite Conference 2024 in Slovenia, a certificate and an iconic trophy.


Ecsite Excellence in Science Engagement Award 

The winning organisation receives a certificate, an iconic trophy and one free entry to the 2024 Ecsite Conference in Slovenia.


3. Key Dates

Please submit or apply by 12 February 2024.

The jury of experts will convene to select the successful nominees in March 2024.

Winners will be informed in April 2024.

The awards ceremony takes place at the Ecsite Conference 2024 in Slovenia.

4. Eligibility Criteria

The following conditions must be met:

Beacon of the Year Award

  • Only Ecsite members and their staff can nominate a peer colleague
  • Only staff of Ecsite members can be nominated
  • When nominating, please provide the contact details of three professional references from three different countries who can confirm your description of your nominee
  • No self-nominations allowed
  • You can nominate a colleague from your own institution

Ecsite Excellence in Science Engagement Award

  • All Ecsite members can submit an application or be nominated by peers
  • Several Ecsite members can team up to submit a common application if they worked on a project together
  • Any methodology/projects/initiative should have been created and designed in response to an emerging societal trend

5. How to Apply

Submissions for 2024 are now closed. Please try back in Autumn 2024 for the 2025 awards.

6. Selecting the Winners

The award winners are chosen by a panel of experts in the field of science engagement, chaired by 2020 Beacon of the Year winner Maya Halevy, Former Director of the The Bloomfield Science Museum, Jerusalem.

7. The Jury

Maya Halevy

Chairperson

Director

The Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem


Anna Omedes

Jury Member

Director

Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona


Andrea Bandelli

Jury Member

Head of International Relations

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam


Tony Lockett

Jury Member

Head of Communication

European Research Council

Executive Agency

Tony Lockett

Jury Member

Head of Communication

European Research Council

Executive Agency

Tony Lockett

Jury Member

Head of Communication

European Research Council

Executive Agency

Justin Dillon

Jury Member

Professor of science and environmental education

Exeter Science Centre

8. History of the Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards

Created in 2015, the Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards encourage creative and impactful work within the informal science education sector.
Open to all Ecsite members, they provide a prestigious incentive and reward, and contribute to the development of excellence in science engagement.

The awards are named after José Mariano Gago (1948 - 2015), a key figure of European science engagement. He was a founder of the Portuguese Ciência Viva network of science centres and an active contributor to Ecsite activities over the years. "In a few decades Mariano Gago was able to build a modern scientific community deeply rooted in Portuguese society, implementing his vision that science is source of both technical and human progress. Mariano Gago was also the founder of LIP," explained Mário Pimenta, President of the LIP laboratory, generous contributor to the Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards.

9. Sponsor

LIP has sponsorsed the Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards since 2016.

The Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Physics (LIP) was founded by José Mariano Gago in 1986. José Mariano Gago (1948 - 2015) was a key figure of European science engagement. He was a founder of the Portuguese Ciência Viva network of science centres and an active contributor to Ecsite activities over the years.

The Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards bear his name as a tribute. Ecsite warmly thanks LIP, which made a generous donation towards the awards.

LIP is the Portuguese Laboratory for experimental Particle and Astroparticle Physics and develops its R&D activities mainly in the framework of experiments at CERN, ESA and in other international scientific facilities such as GSI, SNOLAB, SURF(LUX) and the Pierre Auger Observatory. LIP activities include the development of new Instruments and Methods, advanced Computing, advanced education and outreach. LIP has premises in Lisbon, Coimbra and Braga and its members are presently the Portuguese science founding agency (FCT), the Universities of Coimbra, Lisbon and Minho, IST (Técnico-Lisbon) and ANIMEE (Electrical and Electronics Business Association).

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