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Apr 29, 2026 Conference Review

Science Communication, an Italian Job: Reflections from the "Convegno Nazionale di Comunicazione della Scienza 2025"

by Alessandra Fornetti , Ilda Mannino , Folco Soffietti

The 2025 edition of the Convegno Nazionale di Comunicazione della Scienza (Italian National Conference on Science Communication) gathered Italy’s growing science-communication community in a four-day event characterised by vibrant discussions, experimental formats, and an atmosphere of collective exploration.

Hosted at SISSA (International School of Advanced Studies) and across Trieste’s Porto Vecchio district, the programme combined plenaries, dialogues, hands-on laboratories, and mosaic sessions, covering themes ranging from risk communication and environmental justice to museum mediation, playful science formats, and digital strategies.

The conference showcased some of the most advanced research and applied techniques currently shaping the field and was marked by strong participant engagement, culminating in an appreciated social visit to the “Immaginario Scientifico” Science Museum in Magazzino 26 in the old port of Trieste.

Overall, the Convegno Nazionale di Comunicazione della Scienza 2025 demonstrated a dynamic, evolving landscape in which science communication in Italy continues to expand, diversify, and renew itself.

Volume 25Issue 32026

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

Mar 19, 2026 Conference Review

Building science communication capacity and community in Asia: lessons from the first PCST Symposium in Japan

by Qinlin Wu

The PCST Symposium 2025, held in Tokyo from 11–13 November, marked the first PCST-related event hosted in Japan. The symposium explored the strategic development of science communication in Asia, focusing on education and training, as well as public engagement. Navigating challenges such as linguistic diversity, limited professional development, and underrepresentation in Western discourse, Asian science communicators are harnessing new platforms and networks to expand local engagement and international impact through culturally rooted narratives.

Volume 25Issue 12026

Sep 30, 2025 Conference Review

Far div ye bide?

by Mhairi L. Stewart FRSE

PCST 2025 took place in the silver city of Aberdeen, Scotland. Named for the sparkle of the mica in the granite of which it is largely built, Aberdeen was first scheduled to host the PCST conference in 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. The conference was then hosted online in 2021, coming back to Aberdeen in person in April of 2025.

Volume 24Issue 052025

Aug 20, 2025 Conference Review

Science communication and its role in communication research: reflections from the 4th Science Communication Preconference at ICA25

by Janise Brück

Held one day before the 75th ICA conference, the fourth Science Communication Preconference brought together about 60 international researchers to explore the role and contribution of science communication to the broader field of communication research. The conference’s emphasis on inclusion, global perspectives, and theoretical development, as underscored by two keynotes and 23 presentations, was highlighted by the official recognition of science communication as an ICA interest group – an encouraging milestone for the field at a time when science is increasingly under pressure.

Volume 24Issue 042025

Nov 13, 2024 Conference Review

Communicating science across different cultures — a reflection on the PCST Suzhou Symposium 2024

by Michel Claessens

The symposium occurred from 17–19 October 2024 in Suzhou, China, a city famous for its long history and rich culture and often called “the heaven on Earth”. The 230 delegates from 26 countries spent two insightful days immersed in the world of science communication. The event highlighted that Chinese policymakers and research leaders are taking science communication and science literacy seriously. In his opening speech, Professor Yanhao Xu, Vice Chairman of the National Education, Science, Health and Sports Committee, recalled that China has a special law on science popularisation that recognises science communication as of equal importance to technological innovation. This also means that suitable communication activities must accompany every major Chinese scientific initiative.

Volume 23Issue 082024

Oct 30, 2024 Conference Review

Public Communication of Science and Technology Symposium in South Bend, Indiana, U.S.A.

by Marlit Hayslett , Maggie Fink

This conference review discusses the July 2024 Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) symposium held in South Bend, Indiana, the first PCST symposium held in the United States. It reflects on speakers, topics, and logistics of the event.

Volume 23Issue 082024

Jul 22, 2024 Conference Review

#AISCICOMM24. Discussing the role of (generative) AI for science communication research and science communication practice

by Julia Metag

The annual conference of the Science Communication Division of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) was held in Zurich, Switzerland, from 5–7 June 2024. The conference attracted around 125 researchers and science communication practitioners from Europe and beyond. In this review, I provide an overview of the conference and discuss some of the challenges for researching AI in science communication as well as for science communication practice.

Volume 23Issue 052024

Jul 18, 2024 Conference Review

International Symposium on Public Communication of Science and Technology in Zacatecas, Mexico: between diversity, inclusion and pending questions

by Margoth Mena-Young

There are current challenges that affect the Public Communication of Science and Technology that must be thought about collectively and for which there are still no answers. These challenges include changes in media ecosystems and consumer preferences; decline of democratic systems and rise of populism; advance of the planetary crisis; growing social inequalities; economic crises and budget cuts; exacerbated misinformation; and distrust in science and its agents; to mention a few examples. The space proposed by the International Symposium on Public Communication of Science and Technology 2024 and the IX National Colloquium on Scientific Recreation, held in Zacatecas, Mexico, was ideal to share several questions — theoretical and practical — that are a guide to address current challenges in this profession.

Volume 23Issue 052024

Jan 25, 2024 Conference Review

Reimagining science communication in the age of AI

by Lourdes López-Pérez

This review analyses the presentation of “Campus Gutenberg Museo de la Ciencia CosmoCaixa 2023” held in September 2023 in Barcelona and reflects on the connection of the event with the necessary redefinition of the social communication of science in the face of the impact of artificial intelligence.

Volume 23Issue 012024

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