ASC2020 - 16-19 Feb, Melbourne

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Radical Ideas Hour: New Decade, New Voices

We’re entering a new decade and science communication needs a shake up. Hear from 4 fresh voices pitching diverse new ideas and provocations, as part of this session hosted by the Monash Sustainable Development Institute.

How will your session be structured?
The session will have 4, 10 minute talks, each structured as a pitch or call to action, with a short time between each for questions and changeovers.
The talks are:
Luke Richards: “Social Enterprise and Science – Empowering the Local Conversation.”
Olivia Stonehouse: “You can run but you can’t hide: Burning out, what to do when it comes for you.”
Joseph Atkinson: “Fighting for Understanding- how conflict with our loved ones creates understanding of scientific issues.”
Catriona Nguyen-Robertson: “Scientific Earworms: getting science stuck in people’s heads.”

What type of session will this be?
Provocations: short talks where speakers present and explore a dilemma in science communication theory or practice., Demonstrations: presenting innovative science communication practices with a commentary on their application and effectiveness.

What will participants gain from attending your session?
Participants will gain a quick, fresh take on 4 topics relating to science communication: social enterprise; difficult conversations; burnout; and art-science concepts.

Presenter

David Robertson, Lecturer, Monash University

When: Tuesday 18th February, 11:15am-12:15pm
Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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International science communication: a lively and animated discussion on how she emerged in 39 countries

So there’s a book, with chapters from Iran, Pakistan, Jamaica, Estonia, Russia, and all the usual suspects. It charts the different pathways these countries followed and it’s launched in May in Aberdeen.

In this sneak preview, the editor talks it over with two authors and a member of the Editorial Board.

How did Russia hold the Guinness record for the highest circulating periodical? What derailed the polio campaign in northern Nigeria? What does mātauranga mean and why is it important in Aotearoa? What were the fifteen questions and is this a flawed concept?

Why do the Americans describe their experience as ‘vibrant, jostling and complicated’? How does fascism and colonialism influence the story? And what about Lake Como and Aberdeen?

Jenni Metcalfe is ringmaster, and it will take all her skill to control panellists Joan Leach, Michelle Riedlinger and Toss Gascoigne, PLUS handle audience participation.

What type of session will this be?
Multi-dimensional chaotic discussion on big world-leading international project

What will participants gain from attending your session?
Ideas, mostly, for both practice and research. A cornucopia of ideas.

Australia has played tough, done good in science communication; and now we’re helping the world tell its story.

(After all, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”)

Session Producer, Performer

Toss Gascoigne, Visiting Fellow, CPAS, ANU

Session Chair

Jenni Metcalfe, Director, Econnect Communication

Session Chair, Performer

Michelle Riedlinger, Associate Professor, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada

Performer

Joan Leach, Director, CPAS, ANU

When: TBC
Where: TBC
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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Effective engagement with Policy Makers

How do policymakers come to decisions? Why do scientific “truths” sometimes get ignored? What influence if any can scientists have on the process?

This session from a science-trained policy wonk will help you get inside the head of a policymaker and understand what is going on in there. Learn how to get on the agenda and have fruitful discussions that create real change.

 

Presenter

Dr Subho Banerjee, Research Program Director, Australia & New Zealand School of Gov’t (ANZSOG)

 

Session Producer

Dr Phil Dooley, Galactic Freelancer, Phil Up On Science, ASC National Secretary

 

When: Tuesday 18th February, 4:00pm-5:00pm

Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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Stories of how scientists achieve social impact

In this recorded session, a panel of researchers will discuss how they’ve managed to achieve social impact, both within their research and beyond it. We will discuss motivations and enablers for achieving social impacts as researchers, considering as well how the experiences and backgrounds of researchers shape their social impact efforts.

The first half an hour will be curated discussion, followed by equal time for facilitated Q&A discussion.

The recording will be used in the new UNSW Masters course ‘Leading Science for Impact’; please bear this in mind if you contribute in discussion time.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?

  • Understanding of types of social impact that researchers can achieve
  • Insights into how individual researchers experience their role in science communication and motivations/incentives/outcomes of their participation

MC/Session Chair

Cobi Calyx, Research Fellow in Science Communication, Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Sydney

Presenter

Summer Finlay, Lecturer and researcher, University of Wollongong, University of Canberra

Sandersan Onie, Postdoctoral Fellow, Black Dog Institute

 

When: Tuesday 19th February, 9:45am-10:45am
Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Sustainable Stand Up: Cultivating laughter to save humanity

All too often conversations about sustainability become negative and accusatory, and alienate the very people we need to connect with. In this session we’ll talk about Sustainable StandUp, a different way to approach communication, using a highly compassionate form of comedy.

Belina Raffy teaches stand up and improv practices to sustainability champions (environmental and social) to help them to talk about important and scary ideas in delightful ways that bring people in, instead of frightening them away.

Based in Berlin, Belina has now run Sustainable Stand Up courses and shows over 33 times across 10 countries and has also written a book Using Improv to Save the World (and me) .

The talk will feature some excerpts of live comedy from Melbourne-based Sustainable Stand Up teacher and comedian, Tejopala Rawls.

 

What will the audience get out of it?

Insights on a new way to approach difficult conversations, a smile and some optimism!

 

Structure
A live cross to Belina Raffy in Berlin, and some examples of comedy from Tejopala Rawls, along with a discussion of how he develops material and some audience Q&A.

 

Producer

Phil Dooley, Phil Up On Science, and Sustainable Stand Up teacher, Canberra

 

Presenter

Belina Raffy, Empress, Maffick Ltd and Founder, Sustainable Stand Up

 

Presenter/Performer

Tejopala Rawls, Activist and stand up comedian

 

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

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

Hashtag: TBC

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Using behavioural insight strategies to improve the effectiveness of community engagement programs for bushfire safety

In this session, Jodi Braszell (DELWP) and Julia Meis-Harris (BehaviourWorks Australia) introduce a behaviour change method that is being explored for community bushfire risk management in Victoria.

In the emergency management sector in Victoria a major focus is bushfires given this area is one of the most bushfire-prone places in the world. For the agencies working to reduce bushfire risk, it is extremely important that communications help people to stay safer around bushfire events.

Communicating bushfire risk by providing information alone does not lead to as much change in community behaviour as agencies would wish to see. Oftentimes something seems to get in the way between providing information and the actions requested.

Behavioural insights can provide answers for the tricky conundrum of ‘why people do the things they do’ and shed light on ‘what else’ influences people’s behaviour besides information. We share our findings so far, discuss how our thinking can benefit science communication strategies and are interested in our audience view on behavioural insights in science communication.

 

What will audience gain from attending this section?

  • We aim to raise awareness of an emerging and exciting method to increase the effectiveness of behaviour change communication and engagement strategies
  • We will share some of the drivers and barriers to community behaviour change, and will explore how behavioural insight techniques may assist in communication/engagement practices
  • We will also raise awareness of some community-led approaches to engagement and risk reduction being delivered in Victoria
  • Participant activities, informal Q&As, and a range of different communication mediums will be used, reducing the risk of the session being a ‘death by PowerPoint’ experience
  • We hope to build a community of interest and to learn from other interested practitioners working in this field

 

Structure

Part 1 – Introduction (ca. 15min) In this first part of this session, we introduce the challenge we’re working on, and give people a brief introduction to the behavioural insights discipline. We will use interactive quizzes and a range of different mediums to help demonstrate some of the key behavioural insights concepts. We will also ask participants to briefly share their science communications challenges and why they’re attending our session.

Part 2 – Method (5min) In part two of our session, we provide a quick overview of the specific methods that we used to conduct our research.

Part 3 – Findings (15min) In the third part of our session, we share the findings of our initial research question: “What are the drivers and barriers to community preparedness and response to bushfire emergencies?”We will also ask participants to share their thoughts on how these findings may, or may not, align with their own practice and knowledge.

Part 4 – Discussion (25min) In the final part of our session, we link our findings back to the challenges that communicators face in emergency management. We also discuss how behavioural insight methods may provide some useful strategies for other science communicators, regardless of discipline.Through an informal Q&A discussion, we will then explore with the participants where behavioural insights could be useful for the challenges that were shared with us at the start of our session. As behavioural insights is an emerging discipline, we are keen to learn about other projects using similar methods and to build up a community of interest.

Session Producers/Presenters

Julia Meis-Harris, Research fellow, BehaviourWorks Australia, MSDI

Jodi Braszell, Senior Science Engagement Officer, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 11:00am-12:00 noon
Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Getting Paid for Scicomm: Free Labour, Fair Wages and How to Ask for Money

Working for experience and exposure won’t keep a roof over your head no matter how much you love science!

How much are science communication skills worth? When is volunteering a good thing? How do you negotiate fair pay for scicomm work? And what effect does free labour have on the science communication sector as a whole?

All these questions and more will be tackled in this panel discussion.

This is the perfect opportunity to ask all those burning questions about getting paid for your scicomm skills!

 

What will audience gain from attending this section?

Participants will gain a better understanding of the benchmarks for how science communication skills are valued in the Australian job market and what their skills are worth. This will also give the audience tools to help them make responsible choices when negotiating payment or volunteering in the science communication space.

 

Structure

This session will be introduced and moderated by Lee Constable.

Matt Nurse will present the results of the CPAS science communication remuneration and skills survey and talk about where the benchmark is for valuing science communication skills in Australia.

A representative of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance will speak on the effect that free labour and the modern media, entertainment and arts landscapes have on the science communication sector.

Jenni Metcalfe (Econnect Communication) and other experienced science communication freelancers will speak about their personal experience in negotiating payment in exchange for science communication work and paying science communicators for their work.

The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and get practical advice from the panel.

 

Session Producer/MC

Lee Constable, Science Communicator and Broadcaster, Freelance

 

Presenters

Matt Nurse, Masters degree candidate, CPAS, ANU

Jenni Metcalfe, Director, Econnect Communication

Marcus Strom, President MEAA Media and Director of the Walkley Foundation for Journalism

 

 

 

When: Tuesday 18th February, 9:45am – 10:45am
Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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The emergence of modern science communication: the Book

So there’s a book, with chapters from Iran, Pakistan, Jamaica, Estonia, Russia, and all the usual suspects. It charts the different pathways 39 different countries followed as they moved to modern science communication and it gets launched in May.

In this sneak preview, the editor talks it over with two authors and a member of the Editorial Board.

How did Russia hold the Guinness record for the highest circulating periodical? What derailed the polio campaign in northern Nigeria? What does mātauranga mean and why is it important in Aotearoa? What were the fifteen questions and is this a flawed concept?

Why do the Americans describe their experience as vibrant, jostling and complicated? How does fascism and colonialism influence the story? And what about Lake Como and Aberdeen?

Jenni Metcalfe is ringmaster, and it will take all her skill to control panellists Joan Leach, Michelle Riedlinger and Toss Gascoigne, PLUS handle audience participation.

 

How will your session be structured?
Well, Jenni will say something and then Toss says something different and Michelle will disagree and Jenni will ask a question and Toss tries to be serious but the others laugh and the audience gets involved

 

What type of session will this be?
Workshop: allowing participants to actively engage in exploring a project or concept in science communication., A discussion about a book with audience participation on how we can learn the lessons from 39 different accounts, written by 103 authors

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?

Ideas, mostly, for both practice and research. A cornucopia of ideas.

Australia has played tough, done good in science communication; and now we’re helping the world tell its story.

(After all, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” )

 

Presenters

Toss Gascoigne, Visiting Fellow, CPAS, ANU

Jenni Metcalfe, Director, Econnect Communication

Michelle Riedlinger, Associate Professor, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada

 

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00pm-3:00pm

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

Hashtag: TBC

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Understanding how nature works: five pathways towards a more ecologically literate world

The sustainability of human life on Earth depends upon the integrity of the relationship between humanity and nature. Nature supports humanity, and knowledge and understanding of how nature works form the foundation of ecological literacy. It is ecological literacy that underpins our capacity as humans to make well-informed decisions about how to live in sustainable ways. It is therefore of concern that levels of ecological knowledge and understanding within many contemporary human communities may be too low to enable effective decision making in support of sustainable human settlement.

Our concern led to an exploration of the concept of ecological literacy and the assessment of a sample of South Australian adults. We found that while ecological literacy can vary significantly in correlation with a range of socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics, no one factor is necessarily more critical than another. Based on this work we have identified five pathways for growing eco-literate communities. While the patterns and drivers of ecological knowledge and understanding naturally vary between cultures and communities, our findings certainly invite serious consideration for a society, and indeed a world, that aspires to cultivate informed citizenry, leadership and governance with capacity for building sustainable human settlements.

Many people are constantly searching for ways to assist communities in becoming more sustainable. We suggest that ecologically literate leadership and citizenry is necessary for achieving sustainability. Our research has uncovered several pathways which can lead to more ecologically literate communities and thus pave the way for more sustainable human settlements. This presentation aims to convey the essence of our findings and provide a foundation for developing policies and processes that can make a difference

 

Session Producer

Sheryn Pitman, Program Manager – Inspiring South Australia, South Australian Museum

 

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

 

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

Acknowledgements

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