International AEMASE Conference on Science Education: Conference Report

AEMASE stands for “African-European-Mediterranean Academies for Science Education”. This Conference was an initiative of five prestigious institutions, including Science Academies in Africa and Europe, and gathers 50 delegates selected from African, European and Mediterranean countries. Its venue was the prestigious Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in the very centre of Rome. At primary and secondary school, science education (SE) is currently viewed as being in a state of crisis calling for attention in many countries. The organisers of this conference believe that the present social and economic challenges of most countries require urgent and long-term decisive action to renew SE for young people, with an emphasis on early education at primary and lower secondary school levels, when a human being’s curiosity is usually at its highest. For this, they believe that “Inquiry-Based Science Education” (IBSE) is the best pedagogical approach.