Libra-net (13) : Initiatives and initiations
We sponsored our first international event, and we had a blast! Plus some Macedonian highlights, and an upcoming S(c)iesta with Bojana Stojanova and Sophie Nolden.
1. We sponsored the hackathon for comparable MRI (MRathon) at the Don on Danforth, a Masonic Temple turned event venue in Toronto. It was our first international event, and we are overwhelmed by the response. Here is a Twitter thread for a sneak peak behind the MR initiations that took place at the Don. And then there is the party…
2. The MRathon Highlights after-party took place on Thursday night and it was a memorable way to wrap up the largest annual MRI conference (announcement, photos, videos). A special thank you to the Macedonian cohort that joined us for the Toronto S(c)iesta that preceded the party. And yes, that’s our logo up there!
3. We organized four workshops for the winners of our question-asking competition to annotate the Science for Kids (Наука за Деца) videos (link). Congratulations to the teachers Rajna (from the primary school Dimitar Pop-Georgiev Berovski in Skopje) and Krunoslav (from the primary school Vlado Kantardziev in Geveglija) for motivating their students to ask questions and to crowdsource our educational materials.
4. We collaborated with NOVA International Schools in Skopje to organize the first live S(c)iesta that took place on May 31st in Skopje (photos, video stream). The S(c)iesta guest was Tomce Runcevski, professor at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In the library packed with students and NOVA faculty members, Runcevski talked about the lakes of liquid methane and the benzene snow that constitutes the atmosphere on Saturn’s moon Titan, which pushes scientists to believe that conditions for life development can occur elsewhere. The enthusiastic students decided to engage in an interactive workshop where they would learn how to design a poster depicting the results of a study by Runcevski.
5. Finally, we are happy to announce the next virtual S(c)iesta with Sophie Nolden (a neuropsychologist) and Bojana Stojanova (an evolutionary biologist). The topic of the S(c)iesta is “Change, uncertainty, and scientific thinking: How is the scientific method related to resilience in uncertain environments?” and the format will be an informal discussion that will shape an upcoming book chapter contributed by the fellows of the Johanna Quandt Youg Academy at the Goethe University of Frankfurt. Join us on Wednesday (June 14) at 5pm Macedonian time to hear our speakers’ insights on the significance of scientific methodology, equipping you with valuable skills to navigate complexity.
Zoom link (plus some movie reviews and commentaries by Nikola Stikov) below the paywall