Those who deny scientific facts undermine the foundations of rational debate. This is why the political trend towards "alternative facts" and "postfactual arguments", which can now be observed from Moscow to Washington, affects not only scientists, but society as a whole. For this reason, many thousands of people worldwide will gather on the streets on April 22 to demonstrate for increased attention to scientific findings. The Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) supports the German "Marsch für die Wissenschaft" (which will take place in 19 cities at the same time) not only in terms of ideas, but also financially.​

Thanks to the commitment of a few private individuals who have found supporters in various cities via the Internet, the concept of a "March for Science", which was developed in the USA, is being adopted in Germany. Scientific institutes, non-profit associations or foundations were not initially involved in the planning process, but today the list of the march supporters reads like a "Who is Who" of the German scientific community. "The development of the 'March for Science Germany' is a wonderful example of how the idea of the grassroots revolution works," says Michael Schmidt-Salomon, gbs spokesman. "However, it is difficult for private individuals, of course, to raise donations to cover the costs of such events, as they cannot give out donation receipts. Therefore, following a request from the organizing team of the 'March for Science', we quickly agreed to undertake that task."

If you would like to support the "March for Science" financially, you can from now on donate to the account of the non-profit Giordano Bruno Stiftung (account no.: 2 222 222; bank code: 560 517 90; Kreissparkasse Rhein-Hunsrück, IBAN: DE40 5605 1790 0002 2222 22; BIC: MALADE51SIM) using the reference "March for Science". The donation receipts will be sent out automatically next spring (please state your address on the bank transfer in addition to the transfer reference). As an alternative, it is also possible to donate online to the Science March via this link (in this case you will receive the donation receipt via the donation portal betterplace.org).

The Giordano Bruno Stiftung guarantees that the donations for the "March for Science" will be used exclusively to cover the costs of the demonstrations. The foundation itself is prepared to use its own funds to cover the expected difference between the costs incurred and the donations received. If, contrary to expectations, more donations are received than the demonstration costs in 2017, the surplus funds will be made available for the next "March for Science" or for a comparable event by the "Science March Germany" organizing team.

Cities in which marches for science will take place on 22 April 2017 are Berlin, Bonn, Dresden, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Göttingen, Greifswald, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Jena, Kassel, Kiel, Leipzig, Munich, Münster, Stuttgart, Trier, and Tübingen. Several Giordano Bruno Stiftung regional groups are already involved in the planning of the demonstrations on site.

gbs spokesman Michael Schmidt-Salomon himself will take part in the rally in Berlin on 22 April, where on the eve of the demonstration he will present his book "Die Grenzen der Toleranz" ("The Limits of Tolerance"), which not least aims at defending the principles of a rational, scientific argumentation against the Trumps, Putins and Erdogans of this world.

Anyone who defends scientific findings as the basis of social discourse being non-negotiable is sincerely invited to participate in "Science March Germany 2017". Further information can be found on the website http://marchforscience.de/.