Sunday, August 5, 2007: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
A4&5, San Jose McEnery Convention Center
WK 7 - Communicating science to the public: The where, why, and how of engaging non-scientists
Nearly everyone agrees that scientists have a responsibility to communicate their research findings to the public, especially if that research is funded by government agencies or has public policy or human health implications. Few would disagree that ecologists should also have an interest in raising general ecological awareness and interest. As researchers, we can play a critical role in facilitating public understanding of ecological issues and in increasing scientific literacy in our own communities and beyond. However, we can only do these things if we know how to identify avenues of communication and how to effectively engage our audiences. Unfortunately, instruction in how to communicate science to non-scientists is not part of most graduate programs. This one-day workshop will introduce the skills necessary for successfully communicating science to the public and how to identify avenues of communication, both traditional and non-traditional. We will discuss how to communicate with a variety of groups, including local organizations and school groups, print and broadcast media, and policy makers. We will also discuss other outlets for getting your message across, including websites, books, and non-scientific magazines. While this workshop will stand alone as an introduction to communicating science to the public, it is intended to compliment other communication workshops organized by the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program and the ESA Public Affairs Office that are being offered later in the week. A full description of this workshop, including speakers’ names and topics to be covered can be found at http://rydberg.biology.colostate.edu/communicating_science.
Organizer:Elizabeth M. Harp, Colorado State University
Co-organizers:Jessica Brown, SeaWeb/COMPASS
Nadine Lymn, ESA

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See more of The ESA/SER Joint Meeting (August 5 -- August 10, 2007)