ASC2020 - 16-19 Feb, Melbourne

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The Trees Speak, and people listen

Boorna Waanginy: The Trees Speak was the opening event for Perth Festival 2019. A free, immersive light and sound installation, the show was updated and remounted following a successful season in 2017. Using cutting edge technology and a collaborative team of artists, scientists and Indigenous Elders, Boorna Waanginy tells the story of south-western WA’s unique biodiversity and explores the parallels between Indigenous knowledge and western science.

In 2019, the show involved thousands of school children, included a practical component to help people take on-ground action to help biodiversity, doubled its audience to over 200,000 and had rave reviews around the world.

Can art change the conversation around conservation and how do we convert the conversation into action?

 

Presenter

Mandy Bamford, Ecologist and Science Communicator, Bamford Consulting Ecologists

 

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00-3:30
Where: Room G03, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

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Making the most of LinkedIn, YouTube & Facebook

When: Monday 12th November, 1:55pm – 3:25pm
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #M10

Mark will explore 3 of the biggest and most powerful social media platforms LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook and how everyone in business these days should have a presence and be active everyday.

LinkedIn
– How to complete your profile 100% so its eye catching, position you as an expert in your field and gets found
– How to write your 1st LinkedIn Blog article and the winning formula to use over and over again.
– How and what to do every day on LinkedIn, with posting, sharing, liking and commenting.
– How to use LinkedIn to generate an endless supply of new opportunities.

YouTube

– How to setup and optimise multiple YouTube accounts
– How to record and upload interesting and engaging videos quickly and easily
– How to get your videos ranking on page 1 of YouTube by following a simple formula
– Learn the No 1 Ranking factor YouTube and Google are using to determine Page 1 ranking of videos

Facebook
– How to create a wow looking Facebook fan page that people will want to follow
– How, When and What to post to grow your page likes,  increase engagement and benefit your cause,
– How to record and upload video content that Facebook likes while avoiding the mistakes that most people make.
– How to piggy back on the success of other Facebook pages to grow your audience even more

Session Producer

Mark Warncken, Social Media Trainer | Speaker | Expert – Helping Businesses Generate Leads & Sales Using Social Media. LinkedIn – YouTube – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter

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Stereotypes: A Choice

When: Monday 12th November, 10:25am – 12:55pm
Where: L2, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #M6

Does gender matter when it comes to science communication? What about intersectionality? This session will explore how identity and demographics can influence opportunity for science communicators (and professionals within STEM more broadly) and what strategies can be employed to target self-perception and reframe gender stereotypes. This interactive session is designed to get you thinking and talking to others in the field in engaging, thought provoking activities.

Presenter

Merryn McKinnon, Lecturer, Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, The Australian National University

 

 

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Impact and Engagement: What can Australia and the UK Learn from Each Other?

When: Monday 12th November, 11:55am – 12:55pm
Where: L1, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #M8

The landscape of science communication and public engagement (PE) in the UK has changed dramatically in the last decade; many people now speak of an increasing ‘impact agenda’ in the higher education sector, which has led to many considering science communication and PE as being integral to the research process. The introduction of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), and subsequently the inclusion of Impact Case Studies, has had a significant influence on this by enabling academics to demonstrate both the social and economic impacts of their research. These changing attitudes has seen higher education institutions develop the infrastructure for delivering PE activities, such as professional staff responsible for coordinating and delivering PE, and many UK bodies awarding funding provided impact can be shown. With the introduction the Excellence in Research for Australia and now the Engagement and Impact Assessment will there be a similar shift in attitude towards PE in Australia? This interactive session will compare and contrast the approaches of both countries and harness collective knowledge to make an action plan that science communicators can use to help further integration of PE into academia. Participants are strongly encouraged to share their own experiences and bring along examples of successful case studies.

Session Producers/Workshop Facilitators

Lizzie Crouch, Senior Coordinator of Engagement, SensiLab, Monash University

Djuke Veldhuis, Course Director, Global Challenges, Monash University

Workshop Facilitator

David Robertson, Lecturer, Monash University

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Naminma Nanga mi – Reveal the Dream

When: Monday 12th November, 9:35am – 10:20am
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #M2

The sophisticated Indigenous knowledge systems of Australia’s first peoples are both ancient and unique to this continent and I attest are a vital part of Australia’s knowledge capital.

Unlike their Western knowledge system counterparts, if they are not maintained, practised and developed in Australia as vibrant living knowledge systems they will not exist anywhere else in the world.

We need to recognise and value the enormous contribution that Aboriginal peoples have and continue to make to our understanding of the world. After all we have survived in this fragile land scape for millennia, we have knowledge to share. Are you ready to elevate, engage and collaborate with First Nations people’s to maintain our indigenous knowledge systems for this is an issue of national significance for all Australians.

Invited Speaker

Joanne Selfe, Project Officer, MAAS Indigenous Engagement & Strategy

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The art of science communication

When: All conference
Where: Foyer, Level 2, the conference registration/foyer area
Turbine Hall, Level 1 next to the Experimentations exhibit (Tuesday 13th November, 6:00pm – 9:00pm only)
Hashtag: #SciArt

Science communicators often turn to the creative arts in their visual science communication projects. Whether many of these works would be called art is highly contested. On the other hand, many could easily be called works of design. So how do these different fields interact in their science-related visual displays? This exhibition explores works that range across visual communication, design, and art, teasing at the boundaries of these fields and considering how they play into the field of science communication.

To be mounted in the public space throughout the ASC 2018 conference, the exhibition will invite inspection, reflection, and comparison of works that are aesthetically interesting and intellectually challenging. Static visual works will be shown as physical prints in the conference foyer while video and screen based works will show in the Turbine Hall during the main evening event.

Curator

David Harris, Lecturer (sessional), Queensland College of Art, Griffith University

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Beyond Panels: Better Events for Controversial Science

When: Monday 12th November, 1:55pm – 3:25pm
Where: L1, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #M11

Real-life events are a golden opportunity where interested, diverse groups of people gather around an issue or idea. As science communicators in a time of divisive rhetoric and online filter bubbles, how can we curate events that are rich, engaging and able to examine the nuances of complex subjects like climate change, health science, and more?

Right now, panel discussions are a go-to format for science events, especially on controversial topics. The format, despite its popularity, is structurally flawed: rarely do panels achieve depth of dialogue, enable true audience input, or change hearts and minds. Many alternative formats exist, and this session will include two micro-events to showcase more interactive approaches, leaving participants with practical know-how they can use right away.

Session Producer/Workshop Facilitator

David Robertson, Lecturer, Monash University

Presenters

Djuke Veldhuis, Director of the Bachelors of Science Advanced, Monash University

Eleanor Reynolds, Education Officer, ANSTO

 

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Engaging Regional Communities with Science – the Power of the People

When: Monday 12th November, 11:55am – 12:55pm
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #M7

How can we bring science to where people go? Find out how Inspiring Australia fosters lasting collaborations with regional communities to take science to new audiences. Learn how to grow science engagement activity and infrastructure through working with established networks. Discover what works and what doesn’t, the importance of working in partnership with local communities and understanding stakeholder needs.

Science engagement from the ground up – the NSW experience
Building STEM capacity in a rapidly evolving, global innovation system requires national effort on many levels – particularly at the grass roots. Inspiring Australia’s NSW Regional Science Hub network offers a low-cost response to this challenge. With modest funding support that is matched by partner investment, Science Hubs involve hundreds of organisations that come together at a local level to share skills and explore scientific issues. This capacity building approach helps increase scientific literacy through the delivery of creative and engaging public programs led by local communities. Discover how Science Hubs take the lead to create, collaborate and connect scientists with a diverse public, through festivals, events and programs that provide rich and memorable experiences for people of all ages. 

Finding our way through discovery and creativity – the SA experience
Inspiring South Australia has experimented with a number of regional engagement strategies and has found a few to be especially effective in engaging communities with science. Its regional Science and Arts Working Together program is designed to tell the stories of science through the arts, bringing together science and arts organisations, groups and practitioners to create fascinating projects that feature local stories and discoveries while engaging the community in the development and in the telling. Another effective regional program is a partnership between Libraries SA, the Children’s Discovery Museum and Inspiring SA that equips librarians to deliver science programs to 3-5 year olds. Covering a range of concepts, Little Bang Discovery Club empowers both children and their accompanying adults as co-learners and collaborators in the investigative process.

Session Producer, Session Chair, Presenter

Jackie Randles, Manager Inspiring Australia NSW, Inspiring Australia

Presenter

Sheryn Pitman, Programme Manager Inspiring South Australia, South Australian Museum

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Actions, Not Words – Achieving Gender Equity in STEM

When: Monday 12th November, 1:55pm – 3:25pm
Where: L2, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #M12

The Australian Academy of Science and the Academy of Technology and Engineering are developing a Women in STEM Decadal Plan – a 10-year roadmap for sustained increase in women’s STEM participation and progression from school through to careers in all sectors. Science communicators are uniquely placed across multiple sectors, giving them a broad ranging perspective of challenges faced by female and female identifying members of the STEM community. They are also likely to be part of the mechanisms involved in implementing any form of plan or strategic initiative to enhance gender equity in STEM, a challenging communication task. For any Plan or initiative like this to succeed it requires sector, and societal, ‘buy in’. This interactive session will provide participants with an opportunity to see an exposure draft of the plan and discuss its implications and challenges for those working in the STEM, and science/STEM communication fields. How do science communicators best communicate within their sectors to elevate female participation in STEM, engage the necessary stakeholders and collaborate to enact change which will shape future STEM participation in Australia?

Session Producer/Workshop Facilitator:

Merryn McKinnon, Policy Analyst, Women in STEM Decadal Plan, Australian Academy of Science

Workshop Facilitators:

Sandra Gardam, Policy Analyst, Australian Academy of Science

Emily Finch, Research and Policy Officer, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering

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University of Sydney Mathematical Research Institute Launch

When: Monday 12th November, 6:00pm
Where: Sydney University

The University of Sydney will be launching its Mathematical Research Institute at 6pm on Monday 12 November. The institute will be led by world-renowned mathematician Professor Geordie Williamson, who this year became the youngest living fellow of both the Royal Society and the Australian Academy of Science.

It aims to be a high-level mathematical resource for all of Australia and be considered with similar regard as the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton.

ASC Conference attendees who would like to report on or blog about this launch – or who are particularly focused on the mathematical sciences – are invited to attend the event.

Please send enquiries about attending to Marcus Strom marcus.strom@sydney.edu.au

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

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