Ethel Makila Kenya Science Journalists Congress 23 November, 2015
Emerging trends in science communication in Africa
Through the BecA-ILRI Hub lens
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Science communication and journalism in Africa is a fairly new field Fast growing Exciting I am privileged to talk to you science journalists who are making history in this area
Transition
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STORY: When I first joined the BecA-ILRI Hub, there was only one person authorized and able to talk to the media about the program’s activities I remember vividly watching the current director flounder terribly during a practice session as he tried to articulate the work he is so passionate about and which he talks about animatedly at scientific conferences to a journalist who was helping train our management staff to talk about their research. Another scientist was giving fact after boring fact about his research and not really telling a story, yet, we all want to hear THE story. Others not willing to even try Happily, the scenario has since changed and I would say, the transition that took place is a reflection of the trends in science communication in Africa
Scientists attitude
Non scientists are audience
too!
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Scientists not only willing but seeking opportunities to talk to non science audiences No longer seeing communicating research merely as publishing papers, articles in scientific journals and conferences Thinking outside the box
Scientists attitude
Not an afterthought
Needs
additional skill
Communication is…..
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At pains to get skills to make them more effective in communication with non science audiences Hiring professional communicators as part of their teams to help them do this better emergence of new types of hybrid comms people with mix of skillsets What is evident is that communication is not an afterthought but an integral part of research
Demand for information
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Audiences are not passive. They want information that will help them make decisions There is an increasing demand for research to feed into policy and decision making. As such, scientists have to do more to establish the trust and confidence of the public and address their research in the context of audiences concerns There is also an increased deliberate coming together of scientists and policy makers, scientists and end users to influence the agenda of research
Use of new media
Open access
Real-time
Interactive Networking
Communities of Practice
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The increased use of new media in communicating has accelerated the news cycle, Days of embargoed press releases are fast disappearing as information becomes more real time Real-time discussions and debates Opportunities to form networks, CoP and engage in collaborative research through shared data Open access publishing
Use of new media
Norway Sweden
UK
Finland
USA Canada
Ghana Cote D’Ivoire
Nigeria DRC
Cameroon
Rwanda Burundi
Kenya
Ethiopia Eritrea
Sudan South Sudan
Nigeria Tanzania
Uganda
South Africa
Australia
La Reunion
France
Congo Brazzaville
Instant global reach
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Our communication efforts have reached a wide audience across the globe People now aware of high quality research in Africa
Get into it!
Specialize
Connect Uncover
Homework
Relationship
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Hybrid science communicators be specialized in an area of science and become an authority in it Forming alliances or relationships with scientists where you don’t wait for a breaking story but walk with them so that you are the first to know when a story is breaking Even if you are not an expert in an area of research, it is on you to learn the subject matter well, don’t make assumptions. The easiest way to break trust is to make factual errors
