WP Druida EN

On Thursday 15 June, the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) presented the White Paper on the interrelationship between Art, Science, Technology and Society in Spain. It did so in Barcelona, at the international meeting of art and digital culture Sónar+D, which is part of the Sónar festival. The publication is a revision and update of the White Paper promoted by FECYT between 2006 and 2007 at the proposal of its Humanities Commission.

The main objective of this publication is to generate a more transversal and collective perspective of the field of Art-Science-Technology-Society (ACTS), adjusted to its own reality. To this end, FECYT has set up a working group of specialists in this field who, together with numerous interdisciplinary agents, have analysed the current state of the ACTS field. The methodology followed in the White Paper includes a selection of case studies at both national and international level, as well as a diagnosis of the current situation based on the case studies and documentary analysis, interviews and group work sessions or consultations with specialists.

In this way, 17 years later, the White Paper has been adapted to a new context that has made it possible to identify the state of knowledge of the interrelations between art, science, technology and society in our country; to incorporate new areas such as ACTS agents that were not addressed in the previous version; to analyse the challenges and opportunities posed by this interrelationship, as well as to establish recommendations and policies to foster exchange between different fields and disciplines; to promote the creation of projects and programmes that explore the transdisciplinary possibilities of this interrelationship; and to encourage citizen participation and the communication and dissemination of science, among other objectives contained in the publication.

Almudena Claudio, director of Technological Innovation and Digitalisation at FECYT, Pablo Camacho, technical coordinator of the publication and technician of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of FECYT, Pau Alsina, scientific coordinator of the White Paper and who came to represent the academic field, and the collaborators of the publication Teresa Badía and Pep Gatell, held the presentation.

During the event held at Sónar+D, a curious object in the shape of a pentagonal dodecahedron made using 3D printing technology was presented, which, through a mobile application developed for this purpose, allows access to the different chapters of the publication. FECYT, with the collaboration of the Epic Foundation La Fura dels Baus and thanks to the original idea of Pep Gatell, has used this representative object to highlight the value of open knowledge, artistic sensitivity, leisure and gamification. This object, designed exclusively by artists, allows 3D printing and interaction with it through the mobile phone to access all the contents of the publication.