Today, 8th of June, begins the second edition of the City and Science Biennial, an initiative of the Barcelona City Council to "challenge and activate people who see science as something far from their lives," in the words of the Barcelona culture official Joan Subirats. This second Biennial coincides with the World Sustainable Food Capital in Barcelona in 2021, and there will be numerous debates around this subject. CRAG will be present in three of activities of the Biennial.

On the morning of Wednesday 9th, CRAG researcher Laura R. Botigué will take part in an “Urban Agora on Sustainable Food” together with the two IRTA scientists Marta Terré and Marta Balsells. The Agora will be moderated by the head of Communication and Open Science at CRAG Zoila Babot. The aim of this and other "agoras" that will take place during the Biennial is to promote scientific vocations among primary school students, with special emphasis on girls. For this reason, the institutions BIST and FCRI, with the Department of Education recover the 100tífiques initiative, in which women scientists talk to students about their profession. In this case, the talks will take place in a very different space for everyone, an outdoor city square.

On the same Wednesday afternoon, the CSIC professor at CRAG Pere Puigdomènech will mantain a conversation about the scientific progress with the IMIM doctor and epidemiologist, Miquel Porta, in the inner garden of Agustí Centelles island. A conversation that will focus on the limits of the scientific exploration, and on the balance between the social and economic value of scientific progress. This activity is open, with prior registration on the website.

On Sunday 13th June, the 14th edition of the Barcelona Science Festival will take place, which this year shares programme with the Biennial. In a different format than usual due to the pandemic, CRAG offers the activity entitled "What is the origin of the vegetables we eat?", by the IRTA researcher Iban Eduardo. In his interactive talk, Eduardo will explain, how the plants we feed on have changed from the Neolithic to the present day, and how they could continue to change thanks to new gene editing techniques. An activity for adults and teens older than 12 years-old, free, but with prior registration on the website.

Find the City and Science Biennial in the social networks under the hashtag #CiutatiCiència