Encourage discussion, write for the Big Science Communication Summit – tickets to attend up for grabs!

As you would have seen in Rod’s recent post, ASC is a community partner with the Big Science Communication Summit event in June.

This opens up exciting opportunities for our members to be involved in the event, explore today’s sci comm issues and be on-ground reporters for the event. Tickets to attend are up for grabs and you can have a writer profile on the Summit website.

We are now calling for ASC members to act as ‘stream’ ambassadors, helping to raise awareness of the discussion, promote engagement and report on developments at the Summit. See http://sciencerewired.org/summit/participate/ for more of an idea of what’s happening.

While what you do is open to negotiation – we know people have different interests – there are a couple of goals we’re trying to kick here and we are seeking very active, committed contributors.

1. Before the event: discussion and engagement about the topics. Your mission: pick one or more of the five streams (see below) and write a piece about the topic, which will be posted on the Summit Blog. You will work to explore in the ASC community the issues in sci comm in Australia and drive discussion in social media forums and possibly a live webchat.

2. At the event: promote discussion, tell the stories. Your mission: you are an on-ground reporter, using social media to engage, gathering content and ideas from sessions to write an article or two for the ASC website.

We are seeking current ASC members with the following skills and attributes:

  • confidence in using social media and a participatory attitude to channels including Twitter, Flickr, forums, Wikis, blogs, Reddit, Facebook, etc. Someone who will actively engage with users to promote engagement and moderate discussion on the Summit.
  • science-savvy enthusiast, actively engaged and interested in issues involved in Australian science communication. Someone who will promote discussion and interest in these elements to benefit the Summit attendees and participants.
  • able to work to deadlines and maintain a steady level of involvement in the run-up to the event.

The fun kicks off from the Friday the 17th May working with the Science Rewired team so please send your expression of interest with information about your skills and experience and your preferred stream to jobs@asc.asn.auby Thursday 16th May. (Please note, you must be a current ASC member to participate.)

Claire
ASC Vice President

 

Big Science Communication Summit program and streams: http://sciencerewired.org/summit/program/

The five streams/themes are:
STREAM ONE
It’s a two way street: engaging ALL Australians in the sciences.
Considering Australia’s relatively small and geographically dispersed population, where are the significant gaps within science engagement in Australia and how can we ensure a more equitable system of two-way science communication irrespective of geography, ethnicity, age or social condition? In the future how will we communicate to and learn from under-served groups, such as those living in outer metropolitan, regional and remote areas; Indigenous communities; people for whom English is a second language; and people who are disabled or have limited mobility?

STREAM TWO
Participative science: encouraging the best in citizen science.
How can the platforms and processes of citizen science be used to deliver public science engagement activities across Australia? What are the most valuable ways for science communicators, practitioners and the public to work together?

STREAM THREE
Beyond tweets and blogs: leveraging the changing media landscape.
An exponential increase in the form and function of new media both nationally and internationally has brought into stark relief the complex relationship between science, the media and the public. How can Australian science communicators make the most of the increased opportunities available online? Is there a need for stronger collaboration between scientists, artists, producers and editors to develop new ideas and push the boundaries of traditional media content?

STREAM FOUR
Diminishing degrees of separation: developing collaborative approaches across sectorsWe all hold pieces of the jigsaw that makes up best practice in science communication, and finding ways to more easily collaborate and join our efforts provides for a sum picture greater than any of its parts. Such collaboration needs to occur across state and territory boundaries, between education, science, media/public relations and industry sectors and between key national organisations such as the Academies, Science and Technology Australia, Australian Science Communicators and CSIRO. There are currently a number of networks including the Inspiring Australia officers in each state and territories and nationally, and other federal, state and territory government networks, as well as a national science communications community that cross media, education and private enterprise.Collaboration clearly makes a lot of sense, so what is currently preventing these and other networks better collaborating and maximising their impacts? And do networks make it harder for non-aligned individuals to participate?
This workshop will seek to map better ways to bring those jigsaw puzzle pieces together to collaborate nationally, examine what can realistically be achieved, and discuss what will indicators of success look like?

STREAM FIVE
Data at work: developing the evidence base to guide future action. In order to develop the most robust and effective science communication and engagement projects it is imperative to develop a strong evidence base. What baseline data on science communication in Australia already exists and what vital areas are data-deficient? How should this information be shared and publicised? And what are the ramifications for future funding and policy decisions?

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