Iain Stewart | Steering Science Communication towards Sustainability

8 March, 2021 News

Scientists can play a critical role in communicating to lay audiences what they know about future planetary threats and geo-environmental challenges, and so are increasingly being encouraged by universities to ‘go public’ with their science. 

In that rapidly evolving science communication landscape, there are three dominant approaches of this marketing-led science communication: ‘make-and-sell’; ‘sense-and-respond’; and ‘guide-and-co-create’.

The short-term focus of the first two means they are incompatible with tackling long-term sustainability concerns. In contrast, the long-sighted, interdisciplinary, participatory, and reflexive mode of ‘guide and co-create’ appears better suited, according to Iain Stewart. the El Hassan Research Chair in Sustainability at the Royal Scientific Society in Jordan, believes that the third approach combines both an explicit wellbeing-focused ‘purpose’ and co-creating the path to achieving it.

In his special talk at Athens Science Festival, the world-renowned professor warns us, however, that the ‘guide and co-create’ approach in science communication will require institutions to re-think their communication training and practice as they radically shift towards becoming purpose-driven organizations.

The discussion will be moderated by Dr Olga-Joan Ktenidou, Associate researcher at National Observatory of Athens.

Professor Iain Stewart is the El Hassan Research Chair in Sustainability at the Royal Scientific Society in Jordan. Iain’s long-standing research interests are in geohazards, sustainable geoscience, and geoscience communication. He is a UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society and leads a UNESCO International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme project on Geology and Sustainable Development.

Speech title: Steering Science Communication towards Sustainability || Date & time: Saturday 27 March, 10.00-11.00