ASC2020 - 16-19 Feb, Melbourne

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How you can change the world with science communication… on zero budget

We have much more power than most of us realise to bring about positive change. As science communicators, we are gatekeepers of knowledge that can change the world.

Science communicator and environmental campaigner, Matthew Shribman, will present on how, with zero budget and a lot of collaboration, campaigns can be built resulting in the likes of all three major political parties in the UK multiplying their reforesting pledges by factors of tens to hundreds, and universities and schools across Europe dropping beef and lamb.

Matthew’s campaign work has won the support of Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, the University of Cambridge and Friends of The Earth.

The session will focus particularly on the practicalities and struggles of building impact campaigns from the ground up, and the importance of shaping communication for different audiences, in order to empower rather than spread guilt and hopelessness.

There will also be a discussion of the pros and cons of achieving change through public-facing campaigns vs. decision maker-facing campaigns.

The aim of the session is to demonstrate what can be done with very little, and to encourage and empower attendees to dream big, and to act now.

What will participants gain from attending your session?
Inspiration and ideas. This session is about encouraging the use of skills and experience to bring about real positive change, and empowering attendees.

Presenter

Matthew Shribman, Scientist / Environmentalist / Musician

 

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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Bringing out the humanity in science

Peer-reviewed articles, publications and citations are the currency of the scientific realm. While they are a professional necessity for the scientific community, jargon and technicalities don’t get you far when trying to engage the general public – that is, getting the average person to ‘get’ science, much less care about it.

In order to unlock that magical moment where scientific possibility truly resonates with people, we need to connect the precision of science with the flawed human world in which it exists.

This session is a to-the-point, earnest look at the importance of showing the human side of science, and the benefits of bringing creativity and compassion in to a world that prizes rule and order.

Examples will include the multi-million-dollar informal settlement upgrading research program, RISE. RISE is working to improve the lives of more than 7,000 informal settlement residents in Fiji and Indonesia, by strengthening access to essential water and sanitation services. We will explore the humanity behind this research trial that operates in a world of UN agencies, scientists and researchers, ministries of foreign affairs, international non-profits, and informal settlement communities.

How will your session be structured?
20-minute presentation with 10 minutes for questions.

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?
With so many intelligent minds in the room, this presentation is not aimed at being earth shattering or offer solutions people haven’t heard before. It’s meant to spark creative, empathetic thinking, start discussions among colleagues and friends, and inspire people in their own work. RISE as a case study is quite unique and will spark interest.

Presenter

Candice Lever, RISE Communications Officer, Monash Sustainable Development Institute

When: TBC
Where: TBC
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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Using your smart devices to create better visuals for science communication

**This is a ticketed event. Public and delegates welcome. Tickets available for separate purchase. This event is uncatered – information about available nearby options will be provided or BYO lunch. **

This is a workshop where participants will:

* Appreciate the value of creating great images and video for communicating their science for greater impact

* Understand how to use smart phones and tablets to take better photos and videos

* Practice taking photos and videos and receive feedback

* Learn how to edit their photos and videos effectively using free or low cost software

* Understand how to distribute, promote and evaluate their images and videos using social media

Session Producer, Workshop facilitator

Jenni Metcalfe, Director, Econnect Communication

Workshop facilitator

Michelle Riedlinger, Associate Professor / Consultant, University of the Fraser Valley / Econnect

Madeleine Stirrat, Studio Manager, Econnect Communication

Sponsor

Facilities sponsored by FLEET and Monash University Faculty of Science

 

When: Sunday 16th February, 9:30am – 5:00pm
Where: Room G29, New Horizons Building 82, 20 Research Way
Hashtag: TBC

**This is a ticketed event. Public and delegates welcome. Tickets available for separate purchase. This event is uncatered – information about available nearby options will be provided or BYO lunch. **

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

Acknowledgements

© 2020 Australian Science Communicators

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