Filter by keyword: Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in science communication

Outreach on mental illness presents a unique challenge for science communication, in that it requires approaches to actively address associated stigma. A significant barrier to treatment and recovery, stigma shapes the lives of those diagnosed with mental illnesses alongside their clinical symptoms. Evidence suggests that active involvement of person(s) with lived experience (PwLE) may be a promising strategy to combat stigma. However, such interventions remain under-documented in low- and middle-income countries like India. To address this gap, we designed a series of innovative events, co-produced with PwLE. We engaged approximately 260 participants and displayed 191 creative artefacts. This article presents and reflects on our science communication practices to address mental illness stigma by integrating arts-based participation with principles from contact theory.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed tensions between science, politics, and public trust in Brazil. Amid the rise of far-right populism, denialist narratives, and disinformation, scientific evidence became entangled in ideological disputes. Drawing on studies of media coverage, social media dynamics, and public perception of science, this commentary argues that traditional deficit-model approaches are insufficient in polarized contexts. Rebuilding trust requires rethinking science communication as a democratic and culturally embedded practice, grounded in dialogue, empathy, and participation. Strengthening institutional communication, engaging diverse actors, and recognizing multiple knowledge systems are essential to restoring public relevance and legitimacy of science.

“What might our lives in outer space look like in the future? And how will those lives be shaped by gender?” These were the questions that directed students in a science communication activity in the Vienna Museum of Science and Technology in 2024. This Practice Insight reflects on this project and demonstrates how an expansive focus on gender in the long-term engagement project allowed student participants to challenge and pluralize normative masculinities of outer space futures, instead envisaging cosmic lives that supported traditional women's crafts, or gender-inclusive third spaces and city design. Rather than framing “women” and “girls” as the only subject for gender-oriented activities, this project encouraged students and educators to recognize that gender is done many different ways by different groups in societies. The paper provides prompts to readers to support them implementing similar transformations in their own science communication practices.

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.

Scientific press releases are reaching the public directly through press reproduction and institutional dissemination. Science News Agencies (SNAs) mediate this process, distributing texts to thousands of journalists while also "leaking" them on their websites and social media. This comparative case study examines four SNAs — BORI, SMC UK, AlphaGalileo, and EurekAlert! — regarding their role in circulating public scientific information. Through literature review, SNA analysis and principles such as openness and inclusion in science, we converted scholars' concerns into a preliminary index potentially capable of assessing SNAs' public suitability. SARP (Social Adequacy Rating for Press Releases) suggests a shift from purely public relations content towards serving the public interest, highlighting areas needing attention in SNAs' social function, to be refined in future research. Clear guidelines, links to open scientific articles, and explicit notices on press releases’ purposes are simple yet effective ways to address issues concerning science public relations' pervasiveness in the public sphere.

In her book Anjana Khatwa combines geological and Indigenous ways of knowing from across the globe, offering a wide-ranging guide to an area of science communication that can be overlooked, the Earth sciences. This would be sufficient to recommend it to science communicators. The book goes further, however, offering a deeply personal perspective on exclusion and inclusion in academia, and multicultural society. For anyone interested in equitable approaches to science communication, this is an essential read.

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).

In their book Women Scientists in American Television Comedy, the three authors Karina Judd, Bridget Gaul, and Anna-Sophie Jürgens, present their study on how humor is used to portray women scientists in American television comedies such as The Big Bang Theory. The underlying theory and results are interesting to the wider science communication community, but this book might not be the best way to present them.

Universities and funding agencies are increasingly expecting research teams to include initiatives promoting public engagement, which often require public science communication. However, developing science communication skills can be challenging for researchers due to the limited availability of training opportunities. This practice insight documents the experiences of researchers participating in action-learning science communication workshops developed for the VLIR-Teams Active Parks research group in Cuenca, Ecuador. Through learning activities, researchers developed interdisciplinary science communication skills, including self-reflexivity, crafting speeches, and content creation for social media, to effectively communicate their study's outcomes on public park usage to stakeholders and various community audiences. The workshops proved effective in building public engagement skills and developing self-reflexivity, enabling researchers to create impactful, audience-centered initiatives that fostered meaningful connections with the community.

This research examines how public relations (PR) officers in Taiwanese scientific organizations view their science communication roles in a context with limited professional science journalism. Through a survey of 67 PR officers, we investigate their perceptions of public trust in their organization, their media relations and communication strategies. Results indicate that while PR officers recognize the importance of science communication, they perceive less media interest in scientific content compared to organizational news. Potentially, this leads to a self-reinforcing cycle where the perception of low media interests further reduces PR efforts in communicating research findings and potentially harms organizations’ perceived legitimacy at scientific research.