Filter by keyword: Social inclusion

Jul 13, 2026 Article

Academic saviourism: how well-meaning science communication can reproduce epistemic hierarchies

This theoretical article introduces academic saviourism as a concept that explains how inclusion efforts in science communication can at times unintentionally reproduce epistemic hierarchies, and end up being symbolic rather than transformative. Building on theories like Bourdieu's habitus, Archer et al.'s science capital, and Critical Race Studies' perspectives on the White Savior Industrial Complex, I draw out three interrelated manifestations of academic saviourism: (1) affective burdens on marginalised individuals, (2) the performative inclusion practices of science communication institutions, and (3) the underlying normative assumptions that shape how science communication actors understand marginalised communities' needs and participation.

Volume 25Issue 52026Transitions in Science Communication: Continuity and Change (PCST 2025)

Jul 08, 2026 Commentary

Walking the line: balancing benefits of public engagement against the risks of harassment and attack

by Jana Laura Egelhofer , Mr Niels G. Mede , Fabien Medvecky , Dr Thomas James Carruthers , Alice Fleerackers , Miguel Garcia-Guerrero , Mr Bernard Okebe

Harassment, political interference, and violence against science communication are on the rise and pose considerable challenges for scientists, journalists, communicators, and institutions. In this commentary, we — an international group of researchers and practitioners — reflect on how scientists, science communicators and their institutions can balance the increased demand for meaningful public engagement while also appropriately responding to escalating harms of backlash. Drawing on existing literature and lived experience, we interrogate the consequences of attacks on science communication and review available support structures for scientists and practitioners. We propose ways to improve preparedness for and responses to public and political backlash, while considering the challenge of mitigating harassment without silencing valuable public feedback. In doing so, we aim to contribute to a resilient environment for scientists and communicators engaging with publics and to promote a more constructive discourse on socially contested issues in science and technology.

Volume 25Issue 42026

Mar 23, 2026 Conference Review

Science journalism and social justice: reflections from WCSJ 2025

by Desmond William Thompson

The first World Conference of Science Journalists held in Africa was characterised by a conceptual focus on framing science journalism as a social justice practice. This reflection examines how the event interrogated the profession's role within a fractured global order. By foregrounding equity and accountability, WCSJ 2025 served as a renewal moment for the global community, challenging the field to move beyond scientific translation toward critical engagement in an era of systemic crisis.

Volume 25Issue 32026

Feb 11, 2026 Practice Insight

Exploring science with children from under-represented groups through shared interests: Insights from a decade of practice

by Laura Hobbs , Sarah Behenna , Carly Stevens , Calum Hartley

Through a series of projects dating back to 2015, the Science Hunters programme has delivered eight ‘Minecraft Clubs’ to engage children with Special Educational Needs, care-experienced children, and children in low socioeconomic status areas with science, technology, engineering, and maths. Science concepts are used as themes to build around, rather than the key focus of the activity, which is communal gameplay and having fun. Delivery has been developed through reflective practice, insights from which are drawn upon to extract key takeaways for engaging children with science outside of traditional settings through community-based activities and existing interests. These include drawing on the experiences of those with relevant backgrounds in design and delivery approaches, embedding STEM content rather than making it a primary feature of the activity, seeking and incorporating participants’ input, and having alternative approaches and resources available to facilitate accommodation of different needs and circumstances.

Volume 25Issue 22026Science communication in Unexpected Places (Unexpected places)

Nov 04, 2025 Practice Insight

Science communication and intersectionality: Quilombola women and the dialogue on inequality and resistance

by Ivonete da Silva Lopes , Daniela de Ulysséa Leal , Jonathan Fagundes da Silva

This article adopts the perspective of inclusive science communication by approaching the interface between science, technology, intersectionality, and the experience of female Quilombola leaders in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Quilombolas are an ethnic-racial group of Black origins associated with oppression and resistance over the centuries, particularly against slavery during the colonial period. The primary strategy for engaging these women with science was the web series Meios de Prosa (Means of Prose), developed across three seasons. Twelve women, aged between 21 and 73, shared their experiences of early labor, racism, community leadership, and resistance in the context of their access, use, and appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Volume 24Issue 052025

Oct 22, 2025 Practice Insight

From event enjoyment to career aspirations: how inclusive science engagement shapes participant perspectives

by Soumaiya Imarraine , Nicole Ortiz

Promoting inclusion in science is essential for enhancing public understanding, strengthening science literacy, and addressing structural barriers to participation. To support this goal, we organized a science fair in a suburban city near Paris (France), featuring hands-on, inquiry-based activities designed to be accessible and inclusive. The event attracted a diverse audience, including groups underrepresented in science due to gender and socioeconomic background. Participant feedback emphasized the value of active engagement and direct interaction with scientists. Our findings demonstrate that inclusive, community-based outreach can effectively foster interest in science and support broader participation.

Volume 24Issue 052025

Jul 10, 2025 Practice Insight

Seedling science communication in rural areas through European researchers' night

by Raquel Branquinho , Maria Inês Duarte , Cândida Sarabando , Susana Ambrósio , Cláudia Damião , Eduardo Teixeira , Joaquim Duarte , Xana Sá-Pinto

This paper presents a practical insight based on the case study of the European Researchers' Night held in the rural village of Armamar, northern Portugal. By moving this initiative beyond traditional academic and urban settings, we helped bridge the gap between science and rural communities, and democratise access to science through a co-creation process, deep-rooted community partnerships, and active student engagement. Drawing from the RERN-Armamar blueprint, we highlight the importance of promoting and/or building from locally established networks of partners, including the school community. Local ambassadors with a diverse range of profiles can act as multipliers, engaging researchers from diverse institutions, teachers, students and their families. Context sensitive formats which promote inclusive, equitable, and sustainable access to science, in addition to the alignment of content with community interests, has further contributed to the success of the action.

Volume 24Issue 042025

Jul 24, 2024 Practice Insight

Citizen science and science communication: toward a more inclusive pattern?

by Federica Cagnoli

Despite research calls in citizen science and science communication for more participatory approaches, practical attempts are uncommon. This practice insight focuses on a significant barrier to adopting a participatory approach — the lack of inclusion. In this project, I identified the barriers and determinants of inclusion through a literature review, and then I developed and tested a framework applicable to participatory science communication projects to determine if projects recognise and address inclusion considerations. I successfully tested the framework using reports from a European citizen science project. By considering inclusion criteria as essential for participatory science communication, this framework may help practitioners account for inclusion considerations during the design and monitoring stages of the project cycle.

Volume 23Issue 052024

Jun 03, 2024 Article

Plants and Peoples exhibit at MUHNAC: analysis of traditional and scientific medicine from the perspective of the Epistemologies of South

by Martha Marandino , Maria Paula Meneses

The article explores the ““Cure, Malaria, Frederic Welwitsch and the Healer”” theme of the exhibition “Plants and Peoples” from the Museum of Natural History and Science, Portugal. The study focuses on the research carried out by German naturalist F. Welwitsch on local plants in Angola as well as on history of lived colonial experience A. M. Mafumo, a healer from Mozambique, arrested for practicing “traditional medicine”. Using the analytical framework of the Epistemologies of the South we analyze the relationships between traditional and scientific knowledge using documentation, as well as interviews with curators and visitors. The article questions the exhibit' dialogue between these knowledges as an expression of an ecology of knowledges.

Volume 23Issue 042024Special Issue: Science communication for social justice

Jun 03, 2024 Essay

Fugitive publics: sex, sexuality, and science communication

by Chase Ledin

This article attends to the absences and silences of sexual identity and knowledge in science communication scholarship. It locates identitarian debates within this scholarship and utilises queer theory to encourage a shift towards a post-identitarian approach to conceptualising sex (as a social act) in science communication. In this way, this article advocates for a queer science communication that critically examines normative identities, practices, institutions, and policies, and makes room for subjugated knowledges within science communication theory and practice.

Volume 23Issue 042024Special Issue: Science communication for social justice

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