Science is often seen as a subject for intellectuals and academics only. But the British Council in Africa is trying to change this perception and bring science to ordinary people, using a vehicle called African science cafés.

African science cafes are based on the European Café Scientifique concept, which sees groups of people discussing any number of scientific topics in informal settings such as restaurants and cafes.

The British Council has adapted this model for an African audience in partnership with Joy Francis (The Creative Collective) and Dr Sheila Ochugboju. African science cafés are events where topics relevant to Africans, such as climate change, food, health, nutrition and sustainability are discussed in informal, relaxed settings.

Ruth Wanjala, who works in the communications department of a Kenyan research and policy organisation, recently oversaw Kenya's first African science cafe on April 17, 2008. The café hosted debates about the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative. She explains, “The science café is a new international model of scientific communication that provides a unique forum for the discussion of topical and thought-provoking scientific issues in a relaxed, informal and accessible manner. It is designed to promote group discussion, led by an invited speaker on a topic that is then debated by the participants.”

The African science café in Kenya was a great success and attracted national television coverage.

Typically, regular meetings are organised in a café or any other informal setting where one or several scientists are invited to talk in layperson's terms about their work in a topical or even controversial area. The events are known for their informal and friendly atmosphere.

The British Council also facilitates “British Council Science Communications Training” workshops, where individuals learn about Science cafes and how they can be implemented in Africa. They then organise and run their own science cafes.

Wanjala attended the communications workshop. She hopes the idea will get continued support from the British Council and its partners. “Any new idea needs plenty of support in the initial stages. The British Council trained us to conduct the science cafes so we still need their support to carry out the cafes especially in terms of resources. This cafe was for example partly financed by our personal money.”

Asked why she decided to facilitate her own café, Wanjala says, “I was interested in finding an innovative way to bridge the gap between science and society or ‘public engagement’. I felt that the science café idea was a brilliant method for carrying out public engagement exercises,”

Joy Francis, managing director of The Creative Collective, a media and training consultancy, is leading the science café initiative in Africa in partnership with the British Council and UK project leader, Dr Sheila Ochugboju.

Francis says 16 science cafés have been run in South Africa already. “Two were run at SciFest in Grahamstown in March 2007, on the subject of climate change. Three were run during British Council week at the SciBono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg, in February 2008. These were aimed at 16-19-year-olds and covered climate change, food, health and nutrition, and creative science partnerships for teachers and learners.”

Francis says the science cafés have helped audiences communicate with scientists, and be inspired to set up their own cafés. “In our last café in Grahamstown, we had a diverse mix of people, ranging from journalists to young children and university students, and we helped them develop their own ideas and learn about ways of engaging scientists.”

Francis says The Creative Collective has produced a toolkit for the British Council to “facilitate science communicators in establishing and sustaining science cafes in Africa.” She expects the toolkit to be printed and launched by the British Council in May 2008.

Francis adds that the African science café is unique, as it incorporates a “creative science” model. Creative practitioners from the UK and South Africa are helping young people express themselves and hold focused conversations about science and technology through dance, drama, music and art.

UK project leader, Dr Sheila Ochugboju, who facilitated the continental launch of the African science cafes at the Sasol SciFest in March 2007, wrote in a press release for the event that the youth of South Africa are an inspiration to young people elsewhere. “People in South Africa are among the most vibrant, inquisitive and creatively expressive youth on the African continent. Their participation in the struggle against apartheid, poverty, violence and HIV/Aids is an inspiration to others. This further development of Café Scientifique will empower children to organise science cafés for themselves, within their schools but outside the classroom.”

At the 2007 launch, British Council Science Director, Dr Lloyd Anderson was quoted as saying: “The British Council supports the development of science communication initiatives that help to break down the barriers between scientists and the public, and show that scientists are making an important contribution to the economic, political and social fabric of nations.  Mechanisms such as [the African science cafes] allow the impact of science on people’s lives to be examined and debated.  They also communicate the excitement and importance of science, and so make science more attractive and appealing to young people thinking about future careers.”

Rudi Horak, head and curator of an interactive science centre at the University of Pretoria, was one of the first people to facilitate a science café in South Africa. “People take it for granted that there is science and technological innovation behind almost every aspect of their daily lives, from the cars they drive to the food they eat, the beer they drink and the clothes they wear,” she says.

She says she is working with six interns from the Department of Science and Technology who attended the British Council science café workshop at SciBono. The interns recently organised a science café called “PhuZa Scientific: The Science of African Beer.”

Tebogo Mohlakane, head of the Department of Education at the National Museum in Bloemfontein, who has also attended the British Council workshop, wrote in a press release that he believed the concept of science cafes proved popular among all age groups and improved the image of science. “They are an innovative and elegant way of communicating science to people; people regard the science café as a stylish and trendy approach to science.”

For more information on future science cafes to be held at the University of Pretoria, contact Puleng Tsie on +27 (0)12 420 2700 or Irene van Nutgeren on +27 (0)12 420 3149. Contact Joy Francis at The Creative Collective to find out about upcoming science cafès on the continent or if you would like to enquire about the British Council workshop on running science cafès.

Read about our upcoming events, or contact your closest British Council office to find out about more about our latest events. Learn more about the British Council’s involvement in science projects and initiatives.