Short summary
Far too rarely do politicians talk directly to researchers. What prevents them? And how can the dialogue be improved? These questions were vigorously discussed by distinguished members of both professions at an interactive seminar during ESOF2008.
International research indicates that there are few meetings and too little communication between politicians and scientists. An open society needs more dialogue to ensure healthy political processes. But how can we make this happen? That was the theme of a round table seminar, arranged by the Swedish association Vetenskap & Allmänhet (VA) in co-operation with the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) as part of the large, cross-disciplinary event EuroScience Open Forum, ESOF 2008 (www.esof2008.org ) in Barcelona, Spain.
