Communicating Scientific BreakthroughCERN, March 09, 2015

Organizers, partners, participants

The world of SciComm

James Gillies, Head of Communications at CERN

Alexander Potapov, Deputy CEO, Managing Director at RVC

Prof. Alexander Gerber, Founder & Scientific Director of INSCICO

Dr. Vijay Khole, Vice Chancellor of Amity University

Archana Sharma, D.Sc. in particle physics and Ph.D. in nuclear physics

Jaydip Chowdhury, Head of Corporate Communications & Advocacy, Bilcare Limited

Dr. Antonella Guidazzoli, Head of Visual Information Lab, Cineca Supercomputing University Consortium

Prof. Marcos Pinoti Barbosa, Ph.D. in Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, Professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, President of SLABO

What we’re going to talk about

Science communication: new objectives,

new challenges, new approaches

Irresistible science. The modern researcher:

wanted by the media, icon for the society

Science as a brand: Values.

Audiences. Communication

Redefining public engagement: the 'physics' of

science communication in a multi-stakeholder environment

Can you build a nationwide system of

science communication from scratch?

Science communications & the society

Corporate

communications,

a feature of a

competitive

market

Public affairs, a

feature of a civil

society

«Unlike England, the country where I

come from hasn’t stimulated the

competitiveness of national science

until recently. An individual scientists

are not used to be rewarded for

successes, their “hire and fire”

chances are not connected to

performance” Dmitry Kuzmin,

University College London

«The way science exists depends on the

government, but the government

depends on the votes and thus public

opinion, this is why it needs our

dialogue with the society. Thus every

taxpayer is our stakeholder»James Gillies,

Communication Group CERN

It’s not the same everywhere

“growing international

network of scholars and

practitioners”

“science

communication

s and public

engagement

are enjoying an

unprecedented

growth”

The West: Rethinking SciComm

Current science communication models

operate on the premise that informed

decisions must be based on

solid science, to the exclusion of

the public's values and identities.

The one-way, top-down nature of

climate change communication can add

to the perception of scientists

as "elitists”

“Science communication is still based

upon the false preconception that

science literacy is both the problem and

the solution to societal conflicts”

Instead of “experts,” scientists should view themselves as

honest brokers of information who seek to involve the public

in a discussion by translating scientific advice in a way that is

meaningful and useful to individuals without imposing a set

of policy directions.

Stop speaking in

code! “Space” and “Time” can

be substituted for like “Spatial” and

“Temporal.”

… scientist is

the “expert”

and the public

the

“uninformed

Require researchers to describe the

“broader impacts” of their work as a

component of their grant proposals

A wiki based service that allows field

experts to maintain pages on

individual topics.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology and

Audubon and their eBird database

where Citizen Science observations are

collected and recorded

“CHANGING THE

DISCOURSE”

… frame the climate

change discussion for

various constituencies

citizen science

The West: Redesigning SciComm

Improve the

coordination

between

federal

agencies

Alternative publishing

platforms - articles published

online and Open Access

enhance the interaction between scientists and users of

scientific knowledge

encourage feedback

BRICS: defining the term

Aims: To take up the unfinished

task in the areas of Science

Journalism and Science

communication, realise the goals

of Science and Technology

Communication and to popularise

science and scientific temper

among the Indian masses

The term “science

communication” only appeared

in China in recent years…

mainly related to the activities

of the Center for Science

Communication, Peking

University. In the past several

decades, those activities have

been called “science

popularization” in China.

As Africans, we need to define our destiny and

change our mindset with respect to science,

engineering and technology, as well as research. For

the success of our continent and its people, it is

imperative that significant investment in the

popularisation and public understanding of Science and

Technology development is made.

BRICS: defining the term

“Brazilian government created the José

Reis Prize for Science Communication

in 1978”

“Scientific institutes and universities, high-tech industries, R&D

centers that used to be distanced from wider public are

launching a new dialogue with society. The Polytechnic

Museum, the largest museum of science and technology in

Russia, is holding a conference dedicated to current issues

and innovative approaches in communication of science in

modern society…”

Is there a shortcut?

“In this new scenario we can claim that public

communication of S&T is today not only a moral duty for

the scientists, a necessity for the publics, or a tactical need

of scientific institutions that try to politically legitimate their

activity or to gain funds and sponsors, but also a

spontaneous, necessary, physiological

process in the functioning of techno-science”

Communicating Scientific BreakthroughCERN, March 09, 2015