Many participated in the March for Science
About 600 people assembled at Gustav Adolf's Square on April 22 to attend the March for Science, an international celebration to highlight the importance of science and research.
- We have to fight for the status of science continuously; this march is only the beginning, said Pam Fredman, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg, who spoke at Götaplatsen, with among others Chalmers's President Stefan Bengtsson.
About 600 people assembled at Gustav Adolf’s Square on April 22 to attend the March for Science, an international celebration to highlight the importance of science and research.
“We have to fight for the status of science continuously; this march is only the beginning,” said Pam Fredman, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg, who spoke at Götaplatsen, with among others Chalmers’s President Stefan Bengtsson.
About 600 people marched from Gustav Adolf’s Square to Götaplatsen to show their support for science. Several scholars from the University of Gothenburg joined the march
“Of course I’ll show my support for science, especially when science is being challenged the way it is today,” said Political Scientist Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin.
“This kind of march has an important symbolic value when alternative facts is spreading over the world,” said Joachim Sturve, Docent in Ecotoxicology.
“It’s frightening that simplistic solutions to complicated problems are so appealing in our world today. To participate in this manifestation is a way to stand up for the scientific way of thinking, which is to systematically evaluate and re-evaluate our knowledge, without losing the complexities and nuances,” said Cecilia Rosengren, Docent in History of Ideas.
The march ended at Götaplatsen, where among others Pam Fredman, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg, spoke. She said that she is, together with many others, concerned about the fact that science and independent research are challenged in so many places around the world.
“We as a university must take our responsibility, so that people continue to believe in science, that is something we continuously have to fight for.”
Chalmers’s President Stefan Bengtsson pointed out the importance of passing on knowledge to the next generation.
“We must provide every citizen with knowledge; it’s not only something for the university educated.”
The March for Science also took place in Stockholm, Uppsala, Umeå and Luleå as well as in more than 600 other places all over the world.
March for Science is a non-political and non-religious manifestation for the role of science in society in a time where alternative facts and fake news is getting more and more common.
Photo: Johan Wingborg