From August 17 to 18, 2022, the 2022 Annual Conference of the Chinese Association of Natural Science Museums (CANSM) was convened in the city of Liuzhou in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Cheng Donghong, president of CANSM; Yin Hao, a member of the Leading Party Members' Group cum executive secretary of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and director-general of China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM); Na Xiang, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and vice president of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association; He Qiu, a member of the Leading Party Members' Group and vice president of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association; Qiu Minghong, deputy secretary of the Liuzhou Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Party Working Committee of Liudong New Area; as well as more than 300 participants including directors, experts, scholars, front-line representatives from, and executives of enterprises in the field of natural science museums across the country attended the conference.
Centering on the theme "A New Journey of Improving the Public’s Scientific Literacy––Natural Science Museums in Action", two keynote speeches, six academic salons and four parallel sessions were arranged during the Conference. Participants from various natural science museums across China were called on to take the enhancement of the public’s scientific literacy as their responsibility, thoroughly implement the National Action Plan for Scientific Literacy 2021-2035 (hereinafter referred to as the new Outline), and take practical actions to usher in the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. A combination of online and offline forms were adopted in this Annual Conference. Live webcast of the opening ceremony, keynote speeches, academic salons and parallel sessions received a total of 3.2825 million views.
At the opening ceremony, Secretary Qiu Minghong delivered a welcome speech, in which he introduced Liuzhou's long history and rich culture, strong industrial strength, and the development of scientific innovation and science popularization, and extended a warm welcome to the representatives participating in the conference from all over the country.
Secretary Na Xiang gave a brief account of the development of science popularization infrastructure in Guangxi. In recent years, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association has adhered to the correct orientation, taken science popularization venues as the carrier, and further promoted reforms on the supply-side of popular science resources. It has strengthened the platform development, fostered social synergy, and actively created a new landscape in science popularization.
In his speech delivered on behalf of China Association for Science and Technology, Executive Secretary Yin Hao hoped that CANSM should further establish the concept of “Universal Science Popularization”, integrate science popularization into academic exchanges and think tank construction, give full play to CANSM's advantages in terms of organization, talents and mobilization, and further build up the platform in a wider range. CANSM needs to encourage the natural science museums to concentrate on the main task of implementing the new Outline, focus on the Four Orientations (namely, oriented towards the frontiers of the world’s science and technology, the main battlefield of the economy, the major needs of our country, and the life and health of our people), and conduct in-depth science popularization and communication. All natural science museums across the country should also actively follow the requirements of the times, and explore paths to innovation and improvement, so as to make new contributions to and achievements in value guidance, supply-side reform and social coordination in science popularization.
In her opening speech, President Cheng Donghong reviewed the origins in the formulation of the Outline of the National Scheme for Scientific Literacy (2006-2010-2020), as well as the splendid achievements in China's science popularization cause over the past 15 years since the implementation of the Outline. Taking the release and implementation of the new Outline as an opportunity, and facing the new requirements set out in it, she elaborated on the initial intention and meaningfulness of the theme and sub-themes of the Conference by focusing on the aspects of celebrating scientific spirit, digital transformation of natural science museums, and cultivation of popular science talents. Going forward, CANSM will continue to take member services and awards as the cutting point, and improve the organizational cohesion, academic guidance, social credibility and international influence of CANSM in an all-round way.
With a view to further broadening the growth channels for young talents in the fields of science and technology and fully stimulating the innovative potential and vitality of young scientific researchers, thirteen young scholars shortlisted for oral presentations at the 2022 CANSM Annual Conference were presented the "Annual Conference Excellent Paper Award for Young Scholars" at the opening ceremony.
Following the opening ceremony, Zheng Yonghe, dean and professor of the Institute of Science Education of Beijing Normal University and Wang Yuanzhuo, research fellow and doctoral supervisor of the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered keynote speeches respectively around the topics of “Science and Technology Museums Boosting High-quality Development of Science Education” and “Thinking and Practice of Computer Science Museums and Science Education”.
This Annual Conference was co-supported by Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association, Liuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Liuzhou Municipal People's Government, and co-organized by Guangxi Science and Technology Museum, Liuzhou Association for Science and Technology, and Guangxi Popular Science Communication Center.