The second edition of ESOF (Euroscience Open Forum) took place in the Deutschen Museum Munich, Germany.

Between the 15th and the 19th of July 2006, more than 2100 participants from 58 countries came to ESOF2006, the scientific conference that showed European achievements in all scientific disciplines. This forum of debates welcomed scientists, politicians, members of the general public, the industry, journalists and policy members.

ESOF2006 was opened by Dr. Horst Köhler, the German Federal President and Dr. Annette Schavan, the German Minister for Education. In addition to those two important personalities, many Nobel laureates were present such as Theodor Hansch (Physics) and the Erasmus awardee Sadik Al-Azm.

The ESOF2006 participants had the choice between various exciting sessions discussing topics such as “How many homes for E.T.?”, “volcanism and mass extinctions” or “ageing”. The Scientific Programme of ESOF2006 included more than 70 plenary lectures, seminars and workshops.

The other programmes also proposed many features. For example, the Career Programme included various workshops for students for their career development as well as its “Pretzel with the Prof” event in the Science Biergarten where students had the chance to meet with renowned scientists.

The outreach activities presented various scientific experiments and science cafés to answer people’s questions. It also displayed fun features like theatrical performances for everyone’s enjoyment. ESOF2006 also presented its first poetry competition.

For more entertainement, many receptions were organised like the Euroscience President’s Reception in the Aviation Hall of the Deutsches Museum or the European Foundations’ Reception and Science Writers Award Ceremony. There was even an evening reception at the “Flugwerft Schleißheim” aerodrome, built after 1912. To close the event and transfer the ESOF passion to the next organizing city, a transfer ceremony took place between Munich and Barcelona.

Finally, the city centre was two steps away from the conference centre and offered its transports, entertainement, lodging and more. Munich was really the best candidate to welcome the second edition of ESOF.

For further information or for any access to the documents linked to ESOF2006, please contact the ESOF Hub at: esof@euroscience.org

The Euroscience Open Forum welcomed over 2100 participants from 58 countries in Munich!

The Euroscience Open Forum 2006 (ESOF2006) attracted over 2100 participants from 58 countries, among them 485 journalists. ESOF2006 welcomed delegations and participants from the United States, Japan and China. Central and Eastern Europe was equally well represented.

Topics such as ageing, ethics in brain research, as well as terrorism and international security attracted large audiences. Young scientists attended the newly introduced event 'Pretzel with the Prof' in the Science Biergarten and exchanged thoughts and ideas with the plenary lecturers.


ESOF2006 was initiated by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.

ESOF2006 was hosted by Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD), a non-profit organisation founded by the most significant research funding organisations in Germany.


Further information is accessible on: www.esof2006.org