Speeches 

Thank you Mike.  I would also like to say a special thank you to Sue Clarke, Festival Director, and her team, as well as all of the Festival members, supporters and sponsors. Your hard work and dedication ensures this event continues to be a success after so many years.

This event continues to be relevant largely due to its success is engaging New Zealanders of all ages with science of all kinds. I cannot understate the importance of this, and particularly the important role that this Festival plays. It is vital that New Zealanders both young and old are not only aware of science in general, but are also informed and engaged with the significant contribute science and technology makes in their lives.

This Festival is an important event in that it demonstrates that science is not just interesting, it is relevant, which I think is a particularly important distinction to make. While science is indeed fascinating, it is also a central part of our every day lives. New Zealanders need to have knowledge and understanding in order to equip them well to make decisions for themselves and their families about science and technology in the future. It is not enough to simply be interested; people also need to be engaged.

Communicating with the wider public about science is an important task, one that we are taking seriously in New Zealand.

This week the Science Media Centre was launched. The Royal Society of New Zealand has been contracted by the Ministry of Research Science and Technology to establish and operate an independent science and technology media centre. The centre will be media-focused with online resources backed up by a news-savvy team available by phone and e-mail. The staff will offer contacts, ideas, content, and background material all drawn from a broad overview of the New Zealand research landscape. Ensuring easy access by media to quality information about science and technology is just one of many ways that we can help engage New Zealanders with the science that surrounds them every day. 

This is an excellent step that can only build on the good work done by Festival in the past few years.

This Festival is unique in that is aims to involve and inform New Zealanders of all ages and walks of life about science and technology.  The programme is sufficiently broad to ensure there really is something for everyone. 

For kids there are plenty of hands-on events, spanning a wide range of different science activities, from quizzes and library activities, to treasure hunts and experiments that provide information about everything from the way the brain works, to plants, the environment and deep sea creatures. Ensuring there is a broad range of information and activities available means that we have the greatest possible chance of engaging kids with science at this important stage. Highlighting how exciting science is at an early stage is a great first step. While it is vitally important that we ignite the possibility of a future career in science in kids minds, it is equally important for those who follow other paths to see the value of science in their day to day lives. 

For adults, there are also a wide range activities spanning the breadth and depth of science. We often focus on engaging children with science. While this is definitely important, we also need to ensure that adults are well informed and well equipped to make decision about their future.

To all those involved in the Festival; congratulations and thank you again for all your hard work.  I wish the Festival every success.

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