On Tuesday January 20th, 2010, Professor Penny D Sackett attended Parliament House in Canberra to present a speech, officially opening the Canberra session of the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) 2010.

• 22 January 2010

Professor Sackett with some of the NYSF 2010 students in Canberra

Professor Penny D. Sackett

Chief Scientist for Australia

National Youth Science Forum

Remarks from the Chief Scientist at the Opening Ceremony (Session C)

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Venue: Main Committee Room, Parliament House, Canberra

Thank you Laura for that kind introduction.

Before I begin I would like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal people and their ancestors as the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting today here at Parliament House.

May I also recognise Professor Hans Bachor, and Dr Elizabeth Truswell of the National Science Summer School Council, and Michael Pedler and Bob Greeney of Rotary.

It is a pleasure to be here talking to you today.   You are here because your hard work and achievements have been recognised by the selection committees that work with the National Youth Science Forum.  

Over the next two weeks, you’ll have an opportunity to share your past experiences with other remarkable students, although I expect that most of your time will be spent focusing on the new experiences that you will share together in the present. 

Priceless NYSF experiences like visiting world-class science labs, questioning Australia’s most famous scientists, and discovering just some of the myriad of ways that you may be able to contribute to the universe of science in the future.

I’m most in interested in how you will connect from this present to that future. 

Every single one of you in this room, without exception, has the potential to make a tremendous contribution to science and society. 

The path you take will be your own, and may not resemble that taken by your parents or many of your classmates.  But of course, discoverers chart new territory.

It is likely that your path will twist and turn in ways you cannot now see, but the well-prepared adventurer knows more than one way to navigate. 

Occasionally, you may trip over an exposed tree root or scrape your head against a low hanging branch.  But with a positive attitude, this will only steady your foot and sharpen your eyesight.

And if at times the destination seems distant, remember that science is not found at the destination, but all along the path.  For scientists scout new terrain, and leave behind a reliable map that others can trust.

A map to better health or safer transportation.  A map of the human genome, the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy, or history of life.

Science is the map, not the destination.

The best scientists are those who are adventurous enough to push into the unexplored and disciplined enough to make a good map.

An important part of exploring, and making sure that your bit of the map connects up to other bits of the map is communication.  Communication with those who went before, communication with others in adjoining scientific fields, and communication with those who will use your map in future.

I’ve been thinking about communication in my role as Chief Scientist.

Last year, when I spoke with the 2009 National Youth Science Forum students, I asked them how they thought I should communicate with the next generation of Australian scientists.  How I should communicate with young people like you.

They took my question very seriously, formed a small team to explore options, and then wrote a brief report that was endorsed by the entire group. 

And do you know what primary suggestion was? Make use of social media, like an interactive web site, a facebook account, YouTube, or Twitter.

Now I take expert advice very seriously.  And so together with the fine people in the Office of the Chief Scientist, we have finished the first stage of a new communication strategy that not only includes social media, it relies on you in a very special way.

One of my many roles as Chief Scientist is to be an Ambassador for Science, here in Australia, and abroad.  That’s a tall order, and I could use your help. 

So building on the foundation of your scientific passion and talent, your leadership, your connection to your home community, and building on the links you’ve made at the National Youth Science Forum, I would like to invite you to become a Young Ambassador for Science.

Together, we can reach out to all Australians to share our enthusiasm for science, but also to illustrate how science is connected to each Australian life.  In school, at the dinner table, at the beach, and on the sports field. 

In today’s world, science not only points out particular societal challenges and helps us solve them, but can help individuals make better-informed decisions about their own everyday lives.  Every community needs its own Science Ambassador.

If you would like to join me in rising to this challenge, then I invite you to visit my facebook fan page and become a Young Science Ambassador.  Together, we will share ideas about how to spread the word, the benefits, and the joy of science throughout Australia. 

Each year, hundreds of new National Youth Science Forum students will join our ranks, but you are special.  You will be the inaugural Ambassadors.  Your ideas and experience will propel this new program forward and, in time, regardless of the path you take in life, you will become the Senior Ambassadors who mentor each new generation.

The map of science is never finished: it can always be extended, made more accurate, or explore new dimensions.  And so the adventure never ends.

Yours here at the NYSF is just beginning, and I don’t want to keep you from it any longer.

So it is only left for me to say: enjoy your two weeks, make new friends, think daring new thoughts, and stay in touch.

Thank you