The Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development

Project raSTEM

Project Title: Work Action: STEM (raSTEM)

Call for Proposals: Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations for the Popularization of STEM

Lead partner: Višnjan Astronomical Society

Partners: Virtus Association, Technical Culture Center Rijeka, Technical Culture Community of the City of Mali Lošinj, Klikeraj Association, Our Children Society Poreč, Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Polytechnic of Karlovac, Višnjan Kindergarten, Jože Šurana Elementary School Višnjan

Total Project Value: 2,550,927.24 HRK

Project Co-Funding:

• The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund in the amount of 2,168,288.15 HRK
• The project is co-financed by the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia in the amount of 382,639.09 HRK

Project Implementation Period: From December 30, 2021, to November 30, 2023

Contact: rastem@astro.hr

The purpose of the Work Action: STEM (raSTEM) project is to raise public awareness about the importance of STEM education and to increase the level of scientific literacy among children and young people.

STEM is the backbone of economic and societal development as a whole. Economic growth should be based on innovation and knowledge, and to foster innovation, it is necessary to spark interest in science among children and young people through education, thereby cultivating new generations of STEM professionals. Moreover, with the rapid technological advancement of our world, it is essential to achieve a certain level of scientific and technological literacy and critical thinking ability across society to make informed decisions and function effectively in today's technological world. Unfortunately, in Croatia, students show a trend of declining scientific literacy, which is detrimental to our society. This decline is due not only to obvious economic factors but also to attitudes. While economic challenges can be mitigated by providing scholarships to students from materially deprived backgrounds, changing attitudes is a more complex issue. Influencing attitudes towards STEM professions and skills must start as early as possible and continue throughout life. Civil society organizations play a crucial role in this process of fostering a positive attitude towards STEM. Through their activities in popularizing science, educating children and young people, and mediating between the educational system and scientific institutions, these organizations become catalysts guiding young people towards STEM fields.

The first specific goal of the project is to stimulate innovative ways of thinking, teaching, and communicating STEM within civil society organizations. Planned study visits, skills enhancement training, and experience exchange with established EU institutions engaged in science popularization will strengthen the capacities of associations for further work. The second specific goal of the project relates to the development of scientific literacy through the popularization of STEM by connecting civil society organizations and educational institutions.

The project also includes a media campaign titled "Celebrities for STEM." In this campaign, scientists will explain some STEM concepts that celebrities from various public spheres (culture, sports, art, music, etc.) use in their daily lives. The combination of media-exposed personalities and scientists explaining scientific concepts through videos distributed in the media space is an effective method of popularizing science. The project plans to conduct 35 multi-day workshops aimed at kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in the counties of Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Karlovac, Varaždin, and Osijek-Baranja. It aims to engage 900 children and young people. Through the implementation of 10 science fairs, over 5,500 people will be reached, with an expected audience of 15% preschoolers, 55% schoolchildren, and 30% adults. The project will strive to increase scientific literacy across all population groups, contributing to the long-term improvement of society as a whole.