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46% of getS.E.T.go! readers think that the most important benefit of South Africa’s recent participation in the Shanghai Expo, will be the raising of our country’s science & technology profile on the global stage. |
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38% opted for “sharing of international best practices in maths & science education”; and 15% for “building an international network of contacts”. |
Almost 21 000 learners from around South Africa and SADC countries participated in the Science Olympiad this year.
By Reyhana Mahomed
When scientific research results are made accessible, innovation and entrepreneurial activities often follow. Unfortunately there aren’t many journalists who have mastered this art. This is where the annual Reporting Science Conference steps in.
When it comes to capturing public attention, science news will always compete with political, economic and entertainment content, which makes the existing challenge of reporting on a complicated subject that much harder.
Now in its fourth year, the Reporting Science Conference is specifically designed to bring together scientists, journalists, science communicators and journalism students to explore scientific research and investigate if and how these innovations are reported on in the media.
Organised by FrayIntermedia (a media and journalism training specialist), this year’s conference was hosted at Wits University in September, and sponsored by SAASTA and the Ford Foundation.
Keynote speaker, Professor Lee Berger of the Institute for Human Evolution, suggested that science journalists familiarise themselves with and utilise new media tools such as graphic illustrations, animations and Google maps to better tell their stories. Berger spoke specifically of his discovery of the Malapa Site where him and his son Matthew discovered two almost complete skeletons of a mother and child, dated at approximately two million years old.
“You have to engage the public,” said Berger, who explained how he and his team used the discovery to do just this. “We used the phrase ‘Child found by child’ to draw people’s attention and held a competition for learners to name the skeleton - it quickly became an educational thing.”
Berger also encouraged journalists and science communicators to adopt a story-telling technique. “Concentrate on the process of the research or field trip rather than the end product,” he said.
Professor Himla Soodyall of the Human Genome Project shared Berger’s sentiments. “Bring a narrative to the discovery of science by asking the right questions,” she advised.
Professor Coleen Vogel who lectures in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at Wits University encouraged journalists to relate their science stories to other issues such as politics and economics. “Science then becomes more complicated, but also more exciting. Ask the economist what climate change means to them and their work. Find the link,” she said.
The conference was highly interactive with a number of panel discussions, practical workshops and social events. The key message was that nothing happens in isolation, not even science, and that journalists and science communicators should help their readers find a way into even the most complex of stories.