IPHES-CERCA takes part in Campus Gutenberg 2025 with innovative outreach initiatives
On 15 and 16 September 2025, the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona is hosting a new edition of the Campus Gutenberg of Science Communication and Culture, an event that has become a benchmark space for science dissemination and communication. The event is organised by the Science, Communication and Society Studies Centre of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (CCS-UPF), the UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM) and the ”la Caixa” Foundation.
Campus Gutenberg is an open and dynamic forum where professionals, students and the general public share experiences, reflect and debate on today’s major challenges in science communication. The programme combines conferences, round tables, idea labs, micro-talks and participatory activities that foster critical thinking, creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration. This year’s edition focuses on the brain, addressed from multiple perspectives ranging from neuroscience to artificial intelligence, as well as psychology and the social sciences.
Within this framework, IPHES-CERCA has presented the game Social Challenges from Prehistory, an innovative educational resource aimed at primary and secondary school students. The game links life in prehistory with social challenges that remain relevant today, such as sustainability and the relationship with the environment, gender equality, and migration flows. The activity was led by Dr Marina Lozano, researcher at IPHES-CERCA and lecturer at URV, together with Andrea Alías, outreach technician at IPHES-CERCA. The initiative was developed with the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and is part of the institute’s objective of promoting scientific culture through innovative educational resources and outreach activities. In addition, the game is freely available to all interested schools and can be downloaded in Catalan and Spanish.
In parallel, IPHES-CERCA has also presented the initiatives of the European project ARCHBOTANKA, coordinated by the centre and funded by the European Union. The project investigates past fuel management through archaeobotany and ethnoarchaeology, and has an important educational and societal outreach dimension. In this context, educational resources have been developed and are being applied in school communities in Sri Lanka, with participatory activities aimed at children that help transmit knowledge about traditional uses of plants and foster awareness of sustainability and cultural diversity from the earliest educational stages.
Through its participation, IPHES-CERCA reaffirms its commitment to the social transfer of scientific knowledge and its determination to build bridges between research, education and society. Its presence at Campus Gutenberg highlights the institute’s work in the field of science communication and its active role in promoting a critical, informed and engaged citizenry to face today’s challenges.