I.Family wins communication award
The award, which was presented to I.Family's project co-ordinator and deputy director at BIPS Professor Wolfgang Ahrens in Brussels on December 3rd, recognises the success of the Italian partners, in addressing the challenge of engaging and retaining young participants in the I.Family Study.
The Impact Awards were created to celebrate excellence in science communication. Shortlisted projects were invited to present their strategies and activities for communicating to key stakeholder groups, from industry and citizens to policy-makers and young people. The entries were judged by a panel of independent individuals with expertise in science communication.
Italian I.Family partners secured first prize in the young people category, thanks to a hugely successful community initiative involving their local football team, FC Avellino. The partnership led to an increase in the number of young participants enrolling in the Study.
Professor Ronan Gormley, one of the judges and chair of the Awards Ceremony, said: "It's vital that researchers do more to communicate their work to a wider audience in order to really deliver on the public funding they have received. It's great to be involved with these awards to recognise projects who are doing this well and I hope this inspires others to reach out and communicate their research to a wider audience."