Photo: Leng Shumei/GT

The Beijing Association for Science and Technology (BAST) is about to launch a series of activities as part of its New Year of Science project to welcome 2024 with the aim of promoting the spirit of science among the public, inspire the sense of mission of science and technology workers in technological innovation and activate the public's confidence in achieving high-level technological self-reliance and self-improvement.

The goal of these activities is to create a social atmosphere that respects and advocates for science. It is hoped that these activities can inspire the spirit of advancement of science and technology workers and enhance the confidence of the public in technological self-reliance and self-improvement, Chen Weicheng, vice president of BAST, told a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

Among the series activities, the New Year of Science's eve is a highlight. Bringing together 12 top Chinese scientists and academicians, these renowned experts will deliver speeches on stage, taking the audience through the stories of some major scientific breakthroughs such as the Hualong One nuclear reactor and the high-energy synchrotron radiation source. Cutting-edge technologies such as aerospace, optical glass and artificial intelligence will also be introduced in the program.

Another highlight is the finals of the 2023 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei citizen science literacy competition that will be held on Saturday afternoon. Since its launch in September, nearly 740,000 people have participated online, with 670,000 registered users, and a total of over 9.058 million page views.

The New Year of Science series of activities also include the finals of the youth academic speech competition and the 2023 capital science popularization book recommendation. Two science themed stage plays will be showcased during the New Year period, bringing a fresh scientific energy into the festive lives of the citizens.

BAST also launched an important platform to serve the construction of Beijing as an international science and technology innovation center. As a crucial window for BAST to serve science and technology workers and a major base for promoting enterprise innovation and development, the platform will focus on the high-quality development of the capital in the new era. It will unite and lead the vast number of science and technology workers in Beijing to contribute to the promotion of the development of the capital in the new era and the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.