Need and Challenge of Communicating Science: Engaging Non-Expert Public

Buddhi Marambe

Department of Crop Science Faculty of Agriculture

University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Science and Technology

• Societal evolution domain is ~ 10,000 years

• Science has grown exponentially

At a rate of 7 per cent per annum

Doubling every 10 - 15 years,

Grown by a factor of ten at every half-century

Grown by a factor a close to a million in the past 300 years

Relentless pace of technology

Shrinking time domains

Computing power doubles ….……….. 12 months Networking (Band width) doubles …………... 09 months Storage (Hard disk) doubles ..…………. 06 months

More new information has been generated in the last 30 years than in the previous 5000

Knowledge Era

.…the process of transition is already on

• Spectacular developments in science and technology

• Rapid economic growth –

globalization, competition, innovation at the

frontline

• Uncontrolled exploitation of earth’s resources

• 21st century is the century of knowledge

Raw Materials

Agri products

Industrial

products

Knowledge

products

Information

products

Innovation

Networks

Technology

Industrial

Society Agricultural

Society

Information

Society

Knowledge

Society

Societal Transformation

Involve

Consult

Collaborate

Empower

Inform

The Participation Cycle

Public Engagement by Researchers - Modes

• Science Communication

• Education (e.g. scientists talking in schools)

• Outreach

• Science Exhibitions

• Policy consultations

• Debate and dialogue

• Collaborative research

• New Media (e.g. Twitter to update people)

The Disconnect

• Academia and scientists foster scientific information- sharing.

• Engagement of non-expert public with science requires respect being developed between science and the layman.

• Disconnects between science and the societal environment within which it operates, of course, are not new.

• Communicating science to the non-experts through various media could have immense impacts on political and policy decisions

promote or kill scientific principles

affect economic development of a country.

Communicating science….

Challenges - Belief

Daily Mirror:

20 June 2011

Cartoon by

Awantha

Artigala

Challenge: Truth vs Untruth

Challenges

• The tectonic transformation of traditional media infrastructure

• Mushrooming media networks

• Heavy reliance of the general public on online sources for information on science and technology

Crowded communication environment

What is needed?

• Deliberate practice

• Careful attention to language used

• Select the correct messenger

• Select the most influential target group

• This will ensure the ultimate benefits of the scientific explorations reaching a larger audience.

What is needed?

• A paradigm shift in way of thinking and mode of operation

a necessity in communicating science to general public.

Getting a message across

• A simple and attractive communication is the foundation for an excellent non-expert public engagement with science.

Thank You