Team:SDU-Denmark/Tour62
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
Educating the public
Synthetic biology and the use of GMO (particularly in agriculture) have a highly criticized reputation in the eye of the general public. We decided to target our outreach to the youth – the future, in hope to enlighten them on the applications and possibilities of synthetic biology.
We arranged to give a presentation and debate the current use and possibilities of synthetic biology to pupils attending the Biotech Summer Camp arranged by the Danish Youth Association of Science (UNF in Danish) (visit their website here!). These are kids who have chosen to spend a week of their summer vacation dedicated to biotechnology – that is; they have an out-of-the-ordinary interest in biotechnology. In spite of this they turned out to have a general negative attitude towards GMOs.
However their knowledge of synthetic biology and GMOs were very limited. Their negative view on GMOs arose from the use of genetically modified plants in agriculture, which allowed farmers to use more pesticides. Most of them haven’t even considered the possibilities and applications of GMOs in healthcare and medicine development.
The presentation was designed to engage the pupils by questions and tasks, instead of being an ordinary lecture. We started by explaining the term the relatively new term “synthetic biology” and the development of this field in science. We explained the current industrial use of synthetic biology and highlighted four previous iGEM projects as examples of what we can do with synthetic biology. We briefly discussed our own project and the ethical issues that are the driving force of our projects. This was followed by a lively debate on the ethical issues and considerations regarding synthetic biology and GMOs.
We ended the presentation on the perspectives of synthetic biology, where we are headed and what we hope to achieve in the future. Many of the pupils found it interesting and even felt inspired after the presentation. Maybe and hopefully we managed to change their view on synthetic biology. To promote the development of synthetic biology it is important and necessary to educate the public early on. Hopefully it can change the next generations’ point of view on the matter.