  This work presents the ASIMOV Prize for scientific publishing, which was
launched in Italy in 2016. The prize aims to bring the young generations closer
to scientific culture, through the critical reading of popular science books.
The books are selected by a committee that includes scientists, professors,
Ph.D. and Ph.D. students, writers, journalists and friends of culture, and most
importantly, over 800 school teachers. Students are actively involved in the
prize, according to the best practices of public engagement: they read, review
the books and vote for them, choosing the winner. The experience is quite
successful: 12,000 students from 270 schools all over Italy participated in the
last edition. The possibility of replicating this experience in other countries
is indicated, as was done in Brazil in 2020 with more than encouraging results.
