On 11 December, the GYA working group Trust in (Young) Scientists offered a two-hour webinar on “Science communication through blogs and video blogs”, organised by the group’s co-lead Lisa Herzog (Netherlands). GYA members and alumni, as well as members from a number of National Young Academies participated.
The instructors, Tobias Maier and Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, started by telling participants about their transitions from scientists to science communicators. They shared numerous tips and ideas with the participants, encouraging them to engage in science communication. For example:
– Think about aim, audience, medium, style, topic as the five basic building blocks of science communication
– Think carefully about how to use your time, given what your aims are – persisting is the hardest part! So carefully plan what you want to do and how to build up an audience.
– Think of other science communicators as colleagues, not competitors, and collaborate to widen your audience.
The participants had the opportunity to ask questions via the chat function. For example, there were discussions about how to do online science communication in countries in which social media are blocked, and on whether one can make a living from science communication.
The organisers from the GYA working group see this webinar as a starting point for more activities around science communication and the interaction between science and society, and hope that some participants might take up the tips and start to communicate about their work to a broader audience.