2021 theme year: People and health

Health is more than "the absence of disease or infirmity": the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a "state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being." Many factors influence its maintenance and restoration: an individual's genetic disposition, gender, social status, integration into society, education, a country's healthcare system, work and working conditions, and much more.

The continued growth of the world's population, health problems caused by environmental degradation (particulate matter, noise) and modern lifestyles (obesity, stress), as well as a lack of hygiene, food, medical care and – most recently – pandemics, are harbingers of a future that the international community must face.

With the emergence of the coronavirus at the end of 2019 and its rapid global spread, this future has suddenly become the present. Its effects highlight how vulnerable humans remain despite all medical advances and reveal the fragility of health and social systems, even in economically highly developed countries.

With its theme year "People and Health," the MAINZER WISSENSCHAFTSALLIANZ not only made a highly topical contribution to a better understanding of research, its structures, and methods. It also highlighted Mainz's leading position as an international research location. For example, BioNTech, a company based in the city, is at the forefront of the global fight against COVID-19. The other members of the MAINZER WISSENSCHAFTSALLIANZ, research institutes and companies, also have international connections and are in high demand and successful.

In the 2021 theme year, interested parties were able to find out which projects the many scientific institutions in Mainz are researching in this area.

Whether it was the Mainz Science Market, open houses, scientific tours, Science Slam, Meenzer Science-Schoppe, or other events, the focus was always the same: participate, have your say, and experience it for yourself!