26 May 2026
Second edition of 'Science comes to Town' kicks off in Rome
On 11-13 May 2026, fifteen European organisations gathered in Rome to formally launch the second edition of Science comes to Town, the European Commission’s flagship initiative for public engagement with science. The initiative is funded under the WIDERA programme part of Horizon Europe, awarding €6 million to a small group of cities to host a year-long programme of science engagement. The topic has been included also in Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 for the editions scheduled to take place in 2028 and in 2029.
Science comes to Town has tasked four European cities – Aarhus (Denmark), Genova (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), and Oeiras (Portugal) – to design and implement a one-year programme of scientific activities aimed to engage their local communities and increase their trust in science.
During the kick-off meeting, the project’s partners agreed on their main goal: organising a second ambitious edition of Science Comes To Town that will make science accessible is to citizens by engaging several cities across the EU.
Public trust in science is one of the foundations of evidence-based policy, and part of the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027, claiming that solving the most pressing societal challenges of our times can be only carried out involving societal actors and engaging with citizens also at the local level.
Science Comes to Town was designed with that understanding at its core. Rather than asking citizens to come to science, it brings science into the spaces citizens already inhabit: markets, libraries, parks, community centres. It creates conditions for participation, for curiosity, dialogue and real engagement with how research connects to everyday life.
Science4Everyone will extend this model into 2027, across four host cities in the EU. The programme will include more than 1,400 participatory events over the course of a year and is structured around the five EU Missions in Horizon Europe: adaptation to climate change, cancer prevention and care, ocean and water restoration, smart cities, and healthy soils. This means that every activity, from large-scale festivals to citizen science experiments, is an entry point into the research agenda that the European Union has identified as its priority for this decade.
Flagship events include hosting the EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS 2027) in Genoa and the EU Contest for Early-Career Researchers (EU TalentOn 2027) in Kaunas, showcasing Europe’s brightest young talents.
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