Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement
About the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement
The Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement with Planetary Science is awarded to individuals or groups who have developed innovative and socially impactful practices in planetary science communication and education.
Through the Prize, Europlanet aims to:
- Recognise achievements in engaging European citizens with planetary science, promoting inspiration, learning and social responsibility.
- Raise the profile of public engagement and education as valued activities within the scientific community.
The Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement with Planetary Science was established in 2010 and is awarded annually*.
* No prizes were awarded in 2014, 2015 and 2024. The Prizes awarded in 2020 were supported by the University of Kent. The 2021-2023 Prizes were supported by the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust Ltd.
Nominations
When to Submit a Nomination:
- The call for nominations for the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement will open in spring 2025.
How to Submit a Nomination:
- Complete the online form and upload three supporting letters.
- You can nominate yourself or another person. However, the three supporting letters should be from people other than the nominee.
Rules:
- The prize recognizes and honours outstanding efforts by an individual or an institution in public engagement and/or educational activities related to planetary science.
- It is awarded to individuals or groups who have developed innovative practices in planetary science communication/education, and whose efforts have contributed significantly to a wider public engagement with planetary science.
- For the purposes of this prize, planetary science refers to the multidisciplinary study of objects in our Solar System and those orbiting other stars (exoplanetary systems).
- The recipient of the prize will be selected by the Europlanet Outreach Jury following the above mentioned criteria. The Committee has the sole authority to select winners, as well as the option not to award the prize in any year, at its discretion.
- The prize will consist of a cash award of 1500 €.
Contact:
If you have any questions, please contact Federica Duras, Chair of the Europlanet Outreach Jury (federica.duras<at>inaf.it).
Find Out More:
2023 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement with Planetary Science
The 2023 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement was awarded jointly to the artist, Daniela de Paulis, for her interdisciplinary programmes to bring space and planetary science to international audiences, and the science communicator, El Mehdi Essaidi, for his community-centric work in southern Morocco to share the wonders of our Solar System and the Universe.
Daniela de Paulis is an interdisciplinary artist, whose installations and performances have a strong public engagement component. She has collaborated with astronomers and space scientists for many years and is currently a SETI Institute Artist-in-Residence (SETI AIR). Her project, “A Sign in Space”, invited people around the world to help decode a simulated message from an alien civilisation. The message was transmitted from Mars orbit on 24 May 2023 by the European Space Agency (ESA) mission, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, and was received by three radio telescopes on Earth. The project reached people in 174 countries and over 85,000 people have viewed a livestream of the event. Almost 5,000 people registered on the online platform Discord, where the message was extracted from the raw signal data. The design of the project required coordination with ESA, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the US-based Green Bank Observatory and the SETI Institute, as well as teams of radio astronomers, planetary scientists, engineers, communicators, artists, poets, philosophers, anthropologists and computer scientists, collaborating over different time zones for more than two years.
El Mehdi Essaidi, from the Asif n Ait Bounouh Association for Culture and Awareness in Ait Bounouh / Tafraoute, works to empower students and enhance science literacy in isolated and underserved communities in southern regions of Morocco. Through programmes that are tailored to the specific cultural contexts and local dialects, including astronomy workshops, hands-on experiments, story-telling, stargazing events, mentorship opportunities and observational research projects, El Mehdi Essaidi has motivated young individuals to pursue their dreams in the field of astronomy. By engaging both children and adults, he aims to create a ripple effect that spreads scientific curiosity throughout the community, and provide a relatable role model who shares their language and cultural background. With his latest project, “Asif Stars”, he has enabled communities in Morocco to conduct observational research using the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope network.
Read the full press release.
