Passion for Knowledge 2023 press conference. All registrations are now open!

Organised by the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), the Passion for Knowledge (P4K) 2023 science festival will be attended by eight Nobel laureates and a long line of renowned international scientists who have been instrumental in some of the most important discoveries of recent decades. A real gift that everyone can enjoy, a big-time celebration of the many advances that science has made to benefit humanity.

The Passion for Knowledge 2023 festival has a revamped image and an extensive programme of activities designed for all audiences. Scientists will be dressed to the nines to share their latest findings with the public in the latest edition of the festival, which will take place from 2 to 7 October in Donostia/San Sebastian, Bilbao and other locations.

Passion for Knowledge aims to promote science as a key cultural activity for improving the well-being of future generations and to promote knowledge as a driver of scientific, technological and cultural progress. In addition to the programme, there will be a number of activities aimed at different audiences: mass meetings with secondary school students, informative sessions for young researchers, exhibitions, children’s workshops, shows, an event with bertsolari singers, presentations with contributors from Naukas and streamers, screenings, and more.

The plenary lectures, which take place during the afternoons at the main festival venue, the Victoria Eugenia Theatre, are the highlight of the festival’s extensive programme. With the help of several Nobel laureates and renowned international figures from a range of scientific disciplines, the public will be able to learn about subjects as diverse as quantum physics, chemistry, smart biomaterials, botany and biotechnology. This year’s guests include Özlem Türeci, a key player in the race for the Covid-19 vaccine; Didier Queloz (Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019), discoverer of the first exoplanet; Jean-Pierre Sauvage (Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2016), designer of molecular machines; Donna Strickland, Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018 for her pioneering research in the field of lasers; Dario Gil, Vice President of IBM and Director of IBM Research where the world’s largest quantum computing laboratory is being developed; and Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the discoverer of pulsars, among others. A real gift that everyone can enjoy, with special sessions also being held at the Euskalduna Conference Centre and CAF’s facilities in Beasain.

As is now a tradition, the Victoria Eugenia Theatre will also be the venue for the Bertso Passion show, which brings together leading figures in bertsolarism, like Maialen Lujanbio, Amets Arzallus, Nerea Ibarzabal and Andoni Egaña; and the now-famous Naukas Passion sessions, with the participation of several leading figures in science communication and dissemination from across the country. Additionally, this year the festival is welcoming a new format with the Streamer Sessions, where the top streamers of scientific content from across the country will take to the stage to share their knowledge on topical scientific and technological issues.

In this latest edition of the festival, the mass meetings between secondary and high school students and leading researchers will also be held in San Sebastian and Bilbao, with 5 Nobel laureates taking part. The main aim of these meetings is to spark curiosity for science among young people and to inspire them to take up careers in science, especially among girls. The meetings are supported by Telefónica, EDP and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). A unique opportunity for young students to be imbued with a passion for knowledge.

Also, as part of the festival, ‘STROM – Inclusive Astronomy’ will be launched: an innovative astronomy exhibition that will open the doors to inclusion, with accessible tactile, audio and audiovisual experiences, where you can use your fingers to explore the surface of galaxies and the craters of the Moon, or listen to the sounds of the Sun. The exhibition, conceived and developed by the DIPC in conjunction with Tabakalera for the Passion for Knowledge festival, will be open to the public from 4 to 31 October on the third floor of Tabakalera.

Passion Txiki, a mini science festival for children, will also take place at the weekend in the Club room of the Victoria Eugenia Theatre. It will include experiment workshops, science storytelling, games, among other activities, with the support of the Kutxa Foundation.

Passion for Knowledge 2023 is made possible thanks to the ongoing support of the DIPC’s trustees, which are the Basque Government — through the Department of Education and the Department of Economic Development and Competitiveness —, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), San Sebastian City Council, the Kutxa Foundation, Telefónica, EDP and CAF, and also thanks to specific funding from the Basque Government through the Department of Education and the Innovation Fund.

At the press conference, Pedro Miguel Echenique reaffirmed the idea that has always guided the DIPC, “science as a cultural asset to sow the seed of change”, and stressed the need for critical thinking at a time of information overload and fake news. In his speech, the DIPC’s President quoted Hypatia, “reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all”, to invite the audience to take part in this festival of knowledge.

Ricardo Díez Muiño, Director of the DIPC, wanted to emphasise that “Donostia is a city of science and knowledge, which is home to world-class research institutions. As such, a special festival like Passion for Knowledge is the perfect occasion for extending this activity to the general public, an opportunity to share the fascination for knowledge that we all have. Festivals like ours are very hard to find anywhere in the world”.

To conclude the presentation, Jokin Bildarratz, the Basque Government’s Minister of Education, remarked that “for the Basque Government and the Department of Education, policies on science, technology and innovation are a priority, primarily because they are also a priority for Basque society.  Knowledge is a public good for all people, broadening knowledge is a matter of public interest and disseminating it is the best way to democratise it. Therefore, the Passion for Knowledge science festival is a wonderful opportunity to provide a variety of activities for students, teachers and parents”.

All activities being held during the festival will be free of charge. To take part in any of the activities during Passion for Knowledge (P4K) 2023, you should register and reserve a place on the festival website. An interpreting service will be available in the Basque language, Spanish and English. The main sessions taking place at the Victoria Eugenia Theatre will be streamed live on the festival’s website and by eitb.eus, on its website that disseminates science, knowledge and technology: Kosmos. The sessions will also be broadcast live on EITB’s YouTube channel and, once the event is finished, they will be available on the Kosmos section of the Euskal Irrati Telebista website and on its Nahieran portal, which allows you to watch the content on demand, whenever and wherever you want. To get all of the latest news, sign up for the festival’s newsletter.