A new European Commission-funded project, NANOCHANNELS, was launched last week, with a two-day kick-off meeting that led to the planning of a dynamic program of communication, dialogue and engagement in issues of nanotechnology aimed at European citizens. The program is comprised of a consortium of partners experienced in mass media, educational methodology, science communication, as well as organizations experienced in outreach and communication activities for the public and schools. The Institute of Nanotechnology (IoN) will be the project’s scientific advisor, and will support the activities of the partners, which include: The Guardian, La Stampa and El Mundo national newspapers, Ti Con Uno radio station, ZSI Centre for Social innovation, EUN European School Network, ORT Israel – the project’s coordinator – and Deloitte Israel, who is managing it. NANOCHANNEL’s overarching aim is to build trust and achieve social consensus in the development and implementation of nanotechnology, and will eventually lead to a series of recommendations to the EC on communicating and engaging with future nanotechnology issues. The project will take place in at least six European Union member states and associated countries, and will be disseminated in five languages. According to Mark Morrison, CEO of the Institute of Nanotechnology, “[W]e are excited to be part of this ambitious project which will look at what issues are really important to the wider public, and in particular schoolchildren. Understanding how tools, such as debates and social networking sites, can be effective in this dialogue will be useful for supporting future policy in the European Union and building public consensus on new technology.”