ASC2020 - 16-19 Feb, Melbourne

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Building ecological awareness through ArtScience communication

Human activities are having a profound detrimental impact on our planet’s biodiversity, yet we have not observed a commensurate shift in people’s mindset to achieve a more harmonious relationship between people and nature. As such, the need to shift the public’s understanding of our ecological impact continues to activate the role of science communication. There is mounting interest in integrating art with science as an influential communication practice to tackle the ecological crisis. Creating art inspired by ecological science can increase the public’s understanding of biodiversity through provoking a mindful and emotional response. The arts can provide a platform for expression and reflection on critical issues which traditional communication and outreach methods typically cannot.
Building on the mounting interest in ‘ArtScience’, this study designed a synergistic approach to communicating the importance of urban biodiversity by integrating participatory art and ecology. My study evaluated the outcomes from three participatory ‘ArtScience’ workshops delivered at The Living Pavilion, a temporary, Indigenous-led event space that took place in Melbourne during three weeks in May 2019. This research revealed three themes emerging from the participant experiences in the workshops: 1) discovery (cognitive learning/head/critical reflection); 2) flow (practical/hands-on learning/deep engagement), and; 3) attunement (ecological awareness and nature connection/emotional learning/heart/relational knowing).
This research highlights the positive potential of integrating the head, heart, and hand model of engagement and learning through participatory ‘ArtScience’ communication practice. This mode of activating science communication may provide deep emotional connections to nature, new ways of thinking and bolster ecological awareness.

Presenters

Christina Renowden, Ecologist/Masters student, Leap into Nature

When: Monday 17th February, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Where: Room G02, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

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Animation strategy for next level science communication

It’s popular to talk about having a good content strategy for communication. But it’s a waste of time unless you have a clear outcome strategy.

In this session Adrian will unpack strategic insights and understandings from the world of digital marketing and explore how we can translate them into practical ideas for Science Communication.

– Outcome strategy vs content strategy.
– High level strategic overview of how to plan science communication animation & other social digital content to maximise outcomes.
– Digital marketing techniques for science communicators.
– Marketing funnels and how they translate to science communication.
– The Science Communication Pyramid framework (inverted funnel)

 

How will your session be structured?
15-20 mins presentation
10-15 mins Q&A

 

What type of session will this be?
Practice insights: speakers describe, demonstrate and/or evaluate specific science communication practices.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?
– Understanding why many science communicators focus on Content Strategy, when they should be focusing on Outcome Strategy, and how to know when to do each.
– High level strategic overview of how to plan science communication animation & other social digital content to maximise outcomes
– Insights into the latest digital marketing techniques and how to make them work in science communication
– The Science Communication Pyramid framework (inverted funnel)

 

Session Producer, Presenter

Adrian King, Executive Producer, Redboat

 

When: Monday 17th February, 12:00pm-1:00pm

Where: Room G03, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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Using social video to amplify science communication (and have fun doing it)

Consumption of social video is accelerating at an monumental rate. Much of the public would rather watch a short video than read a page of text. Creating videos is often seen as a costly, time-consuming practice. Not any more.

Your voice is powerful. Your voice is needed. It’s time.

In this hands on workshop you will hear the latest social video trends and strategies, get exclusive access to the latest cutting edge mobile video tool (Brivvio), and make at least one video each (possibly more) ready to publish.

Topics and practices covered in this workshop:

– Latest trends in online video.
– The new wave of social video – authentic, rebellious and personal.
– Structuring short video presentations for impact and engagement.
– How to target your audience and trend on hashtags.
– Video presentation tricks & confidence building (unlearning).
– Creating and publishing short social videos with zero production.
– Science journalism (how to lead the news-cycle with branded videos)
– Hands on practical – resulting in actual videos ready to share by the end of the workshop.
– Free use of the Brivvio app + prize for best Brivvio video at the ASC 2020 conference

 

Recommended to have ready for the workshop:

1. An iPhone (essential, but I will have 2 spares available for practice)
2. Your logo as a PNG image file (preferably with transparency)
3. The hex codes of your brand (not essential)
4. A couple of ideas for short 1-2 minute (not essential)

 

Contact

If you need help preparing any of the above three things for this workshop, email Adrian at: adrian@brivvio.com

 

How will your session be structured?
15 minute presentation
15 minute group exercise
45 minutes practical hands on
15 minutes debrief & group learning recap

 

What type of session will this be?
Workshop: allowing participants to actively engage in exploring a project or concept in science communication., Demonstrations: presenting innovative science communication practices with a commentary on their application and effectiveness.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?
– 3x new narrative structures for short social videos (plus the framework behind them).
– Free mobile app to create and publish branded videos instantly with zero post-production.
– By the end of the workshop they will have created and posted (optionally) at least one short social video
– Skills development presenting and/or directing short social videos

 

Session Producer, Workshop facilitator

Adrian King, Founder, Brivvio

 

When:

  • Part 1 Tuesday 18th February, 9:45am – 10:45am
  • Part 2 Tuesday 18th February, 11:15am-12:15pm

Where: Room G03, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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How to prepare a killer animation brief for science communication in less time

Don’t waste time wondering whether your animation brief is adequate to get accurate and comparable quotations and responses from animation companies.

Follow the simple steps shown to you in this workshop and you’ll know exactly what you need to include, and why it’s important. And you’ll be able to do it in half the time!

– How to fast-track preparing a comprehensive animation brief.
– Handouts: 15 point checklist.
– Hands on practical – have a completed animation brief by the end of the workshop.
– Practice scenarios will be provided for those who do not have a subject to work with.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?
– Skills development in preparing to create an science communication animation
– Understanding of the briefing requirements from both service provider and stakeholder sides
– Hands on experience developing a a science communication animation brief
– Learn from hearing the challenges of other workshop participants
– Handout: 15 point animation checklist for science communication

Session Producer, Workshop facilitator

Adrian King, Executive Producer, Redboat

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 9:30am-10:30am

Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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“Trust me – I’m from the government”

As soon as we say it, we know immediately that this statement will never work. So what does work? There is some good research about trust and risk communication but many people working in government don’t know about it. They end up relying on a mix of common sense and intuition rather than principles based on solid evidence – which can backfire badly because misunderstanding how trust works leads to some terrible traps.

This presentation distils what I have learned about trust from reading some of the research and through lots of experience working on topics like genetically modified food and immunisation. There are some important lessons about trust and I want to share some simple tips. The most important lesson is to accept that trust has both emotional and rational components, that responding to both is essential, and that the emotional component dominates the rational. The second lesson is that you cannot ask for trust, you have to earn it and someone else has to give it – hence the title of this presentation. The third lesson is that you have to trust the public – trust goes both ways.

Earning trust requires five behaviours: honesty, doing the right things, doing them well, treating people fairly, and keeping promises. Good communication is essential but not sufficient by itself. And building trust requires understanding and trusting the public, including letting stakeholders set the agenda and share decisions.

What will participants gain from attending your presentation?

Some tips and traps about building trust and good risk communication.

Presenter

David Wansbrough, Bureaucrat, Government

 

When: Tuesday 18th February, 11:15am-12:15pm

Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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SciCom Trivia: World’s greatest science communication quiz show with (smallish) prizes

Join your colleagues at the opening night of ASC2020 and reminisce about Australian science communication events and people – great and small. Celebrate our 25-year history as an organisation. Dig even further back into our Indigenous and colonial past.

Who have been our famous science communicators? When did it all start? What science communication events have shaped our country today?

Come along to Dooley’s Irish Bar on Sunday February 16 at 6.30pm. Form a team of 4-5 people. Give your team a name, and test your knowledge of Australia’s dark science communication past.

Ringmasters

Jenni Metcalfe, Director, Econnect Communication
Toss Gascoigne, Consultant
Michelle Riedlinger, Associate Professor / Consultant, University of Fraser Valley/Econnect

When: Sunday 16th February, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Where: Dooley’s Irish Bar, 2077 Dandenong Rd, Clayton VIC 3168
Cost: Free for delegates – RSVPs essential, $25 for public.
Hashtag: TBC

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Broadcasting for Impact

Stephen introduced impact campaigns to the ABC, with notable success, including on two series of War on Waste, with 68% of the huge audience declaring to have changed behaviour after watching the show. In this session Stephen will discuss producing broadcast content that has far reaching impacts from attitudes to recycling, to senate inquiries on seafood labelling, and how lessons learned are being translated to current ABC projects on climate change including The Fight for Planet A: The Climate Challenge documentary.

 

Presenter

Stephen Oliver, Manager Documentaries, ABC

 

When: Tuesday 18th February, 12.20pm
Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

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Delving deeper with design thinking

This workshop will introduce participants to design thinking and, through hands-on activities, demonstrate its different stages and how they can be used for many purposes, including to help science communicators develop more relevant content and for engaging audiences more effectively.

Using the Whittlesea Tech School as a case study, which is part of the new Victorian government initiative intending to transform secondary school education, we will illustrate how we use design thinking to empower young people to take on global and local challenges.

This session aims to demonstrate the widespread applications of design thinking and how it can be used by science communicators for both developing content and delivering content with more effective audience engagement. Participants will gain hands-on experience with the design thinking methodology and learn ways in which they could implement design thinking into their own work context through reflective discussion.

This session will be structured with a brief presentation on design thinking and how the Whittlesea Tech School uses design thinking to empower young people and build their science literacy and communication skills. In the form of short hands-on activities, participants will then be guided through the different stages of design thinking to solve a global issue. They will work in groups and the workshop will conclude with a pitching session.

Workshop Facilitator

Vhairi Mackintosh, STEM Communication Officer, Whittlesea Tech School

Michael Wilson, STEM Communication Officer, Whittlesea Tech School

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 11:00am–12:50pm

Where: Room G03, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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Sponsored networking drinks

Join us for a drink, to discuss the day and get to know your new friends from the speed networking session, and then kick on to the Sustainable Stand Up comedy show. RSVP by 12/2/20 from here.

MC

 

Lee Constable, Science Broadcaster, Network 10

 

Proudly sponsored by a partnership of eight Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence

 

When: Monday 17th February, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Where: Monash MPavilion, 26 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton VIC 3800 Google link
Hashtag:#ASC2020

Networking drinks sponsored by the following ARC Centres of Excellence

 


ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS)


ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO3D)


ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function


ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science

ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging


ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis


ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav)


ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET)

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Questions? Please contact Kali on asc2020@asc.asn.au.

Acknowledgements

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