India Science Festival launches a hunt for the Science Word of the Year

New Delhi, November 15

India's largest S&T public engagement platform, India Science Fest, launches SciWo: A hunt for the Science Word of the Year! Being the first such initiative anywhere in the world, it is uniquely placed to connect science and society, we wish to get society's attention to scientific breakthroughs, and create greater interest in the public for science.

Under the aegis of FAST-India, ISF is a non-profit initiative aimed at bringing science closer to society. This is the third edition of ISF, which has hosted 200+ science practitioners and 30,000+ participants in previous years. ISF seeks to simplify and demystify science through numerous virtual activities that would lead to the grand online celebration in Jan 2022.

ISF's science word/phrase of the year is a contest to bring to limelight a word or phrase (<4 words) which has caught or ought to catch the imagination of the scientific community and also, the public eye. As SciWo is announced every year, it will create a long term public memory and narrative of how science has evolved, a mechanism to reflect back on the journey and contribute towards the ‘science of science'.

Varun Aggawal, founder of ISF said, “SciWo has the potential to embed science in youth culture. It will excite the young generation and public at large about science, new discoveries and inventions. It will go a long way in inspiring them to participate in science and pursue the scientific career.” SciWo will be crowdsourced through an online hunt! The initiative welcomes all science students, PhD students, professors, teachers, science communicators, and industry professionals to come forward to send their entry to help us find the most apt word/phrase. The final word shall be selected by an eminent jury working on multiple inputs such as online votes, references in scientific literature and public science media.