"The CNRS is a scientific benchmark organisation which teachers and students can turn to".

Why was this year dedicated to the geosciences launched? And who is the event aimed at?

Nicolas Arnaud: The Year of Geosciences1  covers the whole 2024-2025 academic year and is a major initiative run in partnership with the French Ministry of Education. Its objectives are to raise the awareness of young people and the general public as a whole of the importance of the geosciences, promote the scientific approach and encourage people to go into essential careers for the future. This follows on from the previous thematic years dedicated to chemistry and physics, with a year dedicated to engineering to come in 2025-2026. This year is mainly aimed at helping teachers tackle scientific issues in support of a relationship intended to be both territorially and nationally sustainable and thus to work towards ever stronger public links with research.

The CNRS and its CNRS Earth and Space institute take their mission to heart, aiming to present the organisation's full conception of the broad range of geosciences on the scale of the Earth system including the oceans, the climate and how our planet functions more generally. This year is a natural choice because the Institute's mission is to provide responses to issues where science is key such as climate change or natural resources and hazards. Also, the CNRS has positioned itself as a scientific reference organisation which teachers and students can turn to.

This initiative aims to stand as a form of bulwark in a context of misinformation and scepticism about science by disseminating scientific truths and showing how such knowledge is acquired because understanding the scientific process is just as essential as its results. This year also provides a response to teachers' requests for pedagogical aids to help them explain climate change in a tangible way that does not make people overly anxious and above all makes it very clear that this is a scientific fact rather than someone's opinion. Currently, erroneous beliefs like the flat-Earth theory still persist which clearly underlines the importance of disseminating reliable and understandable information.

What are the main pillars of the Year of Geosciences and how does this initiative provide responses to educational, scientific and professional issues?

N. A.: The Year of Geosciences was designed with three main axes. Firstly, we aim for the Year to be fully integrated into Earth sciences in school curricula by examining the links between the Earth and humanity. We cover subjects like resources and risks and look at how our planet became and remains a place to live and what the Earth's limits are. These are core themes for the curriculum but also require a systemic approach showing how the subjects are interconnected. 

Secondly, we want to promote the scientific approach because learning to reason scientifically is crucial in shaping tomorrow's citizens. We want to encourage critical thinking and give pupils - and therefore future citizens - the right skills to understand and analyse the world around them. The geosciences are based on the observation of nature and enable us to construct integrated models to understand how our planet works involving the soil or the relationship between the ocean and the climate.

Finally, this event also aims to prepare young people for the careers of tomorrow. For example we need professionals capable of understanding and managing complex natural hazards and the geosciences can provide ideal training for future engineers, researchers or technicians in the public and business sectors alike. These kinds of professions will be essential for us to adapt effectively to the global challenges of the future.

Currently, which issues are the most crucial for the geosciences, particularly in the context of the ecological transition and climate change? Can we hope this initiative might have a positive influence on the sustainable management of our resources and also enhance our understanding of natural hazards?

N. A.: The aim of explaining the Earth through the geosciences is to render tangible the evolution of this complex system during long timeframes because the immediate effects of this are of concern for younger generations. For example, the phenomenon of climate change will unfold over a period of decades but its impact is already visible today. It is now a major challenge to explain the difference between weather and climate or to understand the interlocking scales of time and space specific to the geosciences.

The geosciences are not a discipline in the strict sense of the term, like mathematics or chemistry. They represent a set of knowledge based on complex concepts. It is essential that these elements should be made understandable so society is aware of the issues and can react in an informed manner. The ultimate goal is to educate a generation of citizens who are capable of thinking about our society's long-term future and facing up to environmental challenges. This is especially important now because this is the first time our societies have been confronted with such risks.

How has the CNRS's collaboration with the Ministry of Education been constructed and how is this initiative to be implemented in schools?

N. A.: A wide range of activities are planned, including scientists going into classrooms to talk about a variety of subjects such as the world's oceans, risks, soil and climate. This Year of Geosciences also highlights two inclusiveness issues - the diversity of professions involved (researchers, engineers and technicians) and how to feminise the discipline because it still attracts too few young girls. 

So, scientists will be able to visit classrooms and in return schoolchildren will have opportunities to visit laboratories. The initiative involves national institutions like the BRGM (French Geological Survey), the National Natural History Museum (MNHN) and the Société Géologique de France but also has a regional focus through the support of our Institute's Observatories of the Sciences of the Universe (OSU) which will drive scientific outreach to teachers. We're paying particular attention to France's overseas territories such as Réunion Island and also to French priority education zones. One example of that is that the launch day was held in Créteil in the suburbs of Paris with several local classes attending.

There will also be hundreds of events like webinars and presentations in secondary schools while existing projects will also be promoted. One example is the 'Adopt a Float' initiative in Villefranche which gives pupils the opportunity to sponsor a profiling float in the ocean (Scientific Mediation Medal 2023).

All these events are listed on a dedicated website which also provides a directory so teachers can get in touch with scientists. Finally, CNRS Éditions and CNRS Images will be putting a catalogue of existing resources online to hopefully bring together all the available teaching material so everyone can access such resources on a long-term basis. 

What message would you like to send young people and the general public to encourage them to find out about the geosciences?

This year's motto is 'Exploring the Earth, Inspiring the Future' which actually sums up the approach. Exploring our world gives us hope for a better future. If we understand the Earth then we can make the right choices for a sustainable future.

• 1The geosciences include all the Earth sciences.