Plenaries

Dr Craig Cormick
Whose Truth?

How do you tell a story that captures the truth of science in an era of alternative truths, tribal ideologies and contested facts? An analysis of research into the challenges of effective science communication in 2017 and beyond.

Craig Cormick's Plenary Slides

Kirsten Carlson
Connecting Diverse Audiences to Science through Art

Humans have been using art much longer than language to communicate with others. Over time, art has evolved into a multi-faceted set of pathways that connect people with ideas, stories and knowledge. Science does exactly the same thing but language has become its primary path. And, unlike artists—whose audience is non-artists—scientists are typically in conversation with other scientists. And, in doing so, have developed a language that stops most non-scientists in their tracks. By utilizing the visual arts, specifically illustration and graphic design, science communicators can reach non-scientists in much the same way as artists reach non-artists. This presentation will explain why and how art can communicate science to non-scientists. And what kinds of art can be integrated with science. It is time for science to embrace art as an effective way to connect with non-scientists. You do not need to be an artist or artistic to attend.

Workshops

During the conference we had two workshops led by our two keynotes. These highlighted the applied side of science communication practice.

Workshop #1: Kirsten Carlson
Graphic Design for the Science Communicator

Anyone can learn how to be a graphic designer. Design uses a set of rules that provide a creative pathway to communicate visually using text and images. In this workshop, you will learn basic graphic design concepts, and do hands-on exercises to strengthen your visual science communication skills.

Workshop #2 Craig Cormick
Once upon a time… Telling a better story.

Once upon a time… stories were understood to have an appeal that was universal, and telling science research in a good story form was seen to increase its ability to engage an audience. Story theory has also found commonalities of some stories across cultures and eras, and better understanding different narrative structures, and aligning the telling of a story with universal story structures can help science communicators more effectively tell their stories.