The International Day of Scientific Culture (IDSC) aims to highlight the importance of scientific culture in today's world; and celebrate activities and institutions that provide spaces for people to make science a relevant part of their lives.

Now, with major global-scale challenges such as climate change, energy demand and the sustainability of societies, it is of paramount importance to engage and empower more and more people through science, as a key means to informed decision-making to address such issues. Our efforts are critical to the future of humanity’s well-being and the health of our planet.

Many institutions and individuals around the world contribute to strengthening scientific culture through public communication of science. But more needs to be done. Therefore, in 2020 a group of institutions launched the initiative of the International Day of Scientific Culture.

September 28, the anniversary of the start of the broadcasts of the series 'Cosmos', one of the most influential outreach programs in history, was chosen to celebrate each year the International Day of Scientific Culture.

The institutions who founded the initiative in 2020 was Mexican Society for the Communication of Science and Technology, Mouvement International pour le Loisir Scientifique Et Technique (MILSET), Youth Science and Technology Activities National Network (Mexico), Mexican Network of Science Recreation Workshops, Fibonacci • Innovation and Scientific Culture (Mexico), CIENTEC Foundation (Costa Rica), Distance State University (Costa Rica), National Laboratory of Nanotechnology (Costa Rica).