I am pleased to announce a new resource for climate change communicators and perhaps all who work to make science more accessible. The booklet of tips and highlights of the three Hot Air Symposia is the latest outcome of these workshops about communicating the science of climate change presented by Jenni Metcalfe of Econnect Communication and supported by ASC. The events in Perth and Brisbane in 2009 and in Canberra 2010 (a one day session during our national conference) featured panels of select speakers who explored how to address different audiences.

Jenni, with feedback from several ASC members, wrote the booklet which contains a wealth of information to help you frame and deliver your messages for a range of target audiences. Jenni has based much of her recent ‘Communicating the science of climate change’ workshop in Sydney on this booklet. This is a living document and Jenni and ASC welcome your feedback to its evolution. Follow this link to provide feedback via SurveyMonkey here. The survey closes on 10 September.

ASC members and staff contributed to the smooth running of these workshops. Will Rifkin from the University of New South Wales developed support from volunteers for each session. He also provided critical and very useful feedback to the development of this document. ASC Membership Officer, Kali Madden, and immediate past president, Tim Thwaites, were significantly involved in all three symposia. Nancy Longnecker from the University of Western Australia helped with the Perth session and Joan Leach from the University of Queensland assisted in Brisbane.

The New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water provided financial support to assist in developing and drafting this document and Jenni and ASC would like to thank them for their generous support. I thank Jenni and her contributors for their efforts to make the symposia successful and for this booklet which now is a featured resource of the ASC website.

Read the booklet and consider its content. I repeat that this is a living document and we would welcome your insights on how to make it better now and in the future.

Jesse Shore
National President