Science comes to town 2028: CurioCities

CurioCities is the proposed 2028 edition of Science Comes to Town, a pan-European initiative designed to bring science closer to citizens, strengthen trust in research, and inspire next generations. CurioCities responds to declining STEM interest, uneven trust in science, and limited outreach in smaller and non-metropolitan cities. Structured around the triptych “Science: The Past, the Present, the Future”, the project will deliver a continuous European journey throughout 2027 across five Host Cities: Heraklion, Durham, Linz, Braga, Bordeaux. The programme combines high-profile Flagship Events, two European contests for young scientists (EUCYS 2028) and early-career researchers (EU TalentON), Signature Cross-City Activities, a Boutique Portfolio of locally tailored actions, an EU Presidency policy event, and a unifying Citizen Science Action linked to a cross-city competition. Activities will be co-created with schools, municipalities, cultural actors, and civil society, ensuring openness, gender balance, and accessibility.
CurioCities is coordinated by FORTH (Greece) with partners from seven countries, including universities, research centres, municipalities, SMEs, and NGOs. Over its 27-month duration, the project will reach more than one million citizens through 600 events, engage 200,000 students and 500 schools, and train 1,000 researchers and communicators. It will mobilise over 40 Satellite Cities to host activities introduced by the project and spread the message of Science Comes to Town to more than 15 million Europeans through media, digital platforms, and outreach campaigns. Under this structured framework of activities and actions, CurioCities aims to spark curiosity, inspire young people, and build a lasting European community that embraces science as a shared foundation of creativity and progress.