FREETOACT · FRom ExpEctation TO ACTion

The FREETOACT project involves 16 experienced partners and is the legacy of 16 years of a collective participation to the ERN as a Consortium. We will organize events in 16 different French cities, sharing the same objectives and approach to science engagement, and most of the activities, and involving local researchers. FREETOACT is based on two connected themes. In 2022, the public will discuss the functioning of research through an attractive theme, The unexpected, which will bring surprises to the visitors, while discussing predictability in research. In the process, in 2023, researchers and the public will debate together around the theme ""Our futures"". These themes foster the quality of the discussion with researchers (a key factor in enriching the public's vision of science in society), and renew ERN proposition for the public and the press. During the events, we will create warm and aesthetic encounters and design playful activities to be shared by researchers and the public. The 2,800 researchers involved in the project will be coached and trained by mediators. All the local organizers have extensive experience in conducting researcher-public meetings. Thus, Researchers at school activities will be organized thanks to our existing networks. Adults will also be able to participate through a new edition of the Great Participatory Experiment in 2023 (a research team will propose participatory research for the ERN in 16 cities). Online activities will be proposed to interact with the public located outside our 16 cities. The French Ministry of Culture will financially support the event for the 5th year, fostering the participation of researchers in humanities and social sciences