Bengaluru, 29th December, 2021: A virtual workshop on Science Communication that discussed various aspects of effective science writing and research communication was organised by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru in collaboration with the Society for Promotion of Horticulture, Bengaluru for the students, scientists and faculty of National Agricultural Research System on 29th December 2021 as part of ‘Azadi ka Amruth Mahostav’.
Former Editor, India Science Wire, Vigyan Prasar and Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow, Dr. Dinesh C Sharma and Research Scholar of Journalism, Osmania University and Assistant Section Officer, ICAR-CRIDA, Ms. Sneha Verghese were the resource persons at the workshop which was attended by more than 150 participants and the take home message was “Use less jargon for effective communication”.
In his inaugural remarks during the workshop, Dr. Venkatta Kumar R, Head, Social Sciences & Training, ICAR-IIHR spoke about the importance of science communication and mentioned that the effectiveness of the communication is only possible when the audience responds to the messages. Dr. M.V. Dhananjaya, Secretary, Society for Promotion of Horticulture which sponsored the workshop gave an account of various activities the society is undertaking for science communication and promotion of horticulture among stakeholders, by liasoning with various national and international horticultural societies.
Dr. Dinesh C. Sharma briefed the participants on the differences of writing for research journals and popular media, and the role of communication in bringing about positive attitude change towards scientific methods. Ms. Sneha Verghese covered the basics of science communication and crafting messages for various audiences with examples. She engaged the audience with various exercises on how to make press releases, write blog posts and the various online media platforms that could be used optimally for writing about science and research. She reminded the attendees to apply the “5Ws and 1H principle” to test the validity of their communication, use less scientific jargon and to concentrate on visual impact when using social media.
Dr. B.N.S. Murthy, Director, ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru in his concluding remarks urged scientists to keep the audience and farmers in mind while making any science communication aids and using the channels. He cautioned that disclaimers should invariably be used along with the messages. He advised the attendees to encourage their students to learn the art and science of science communication.
The workshop was convened by Mr. Atheequalla G.A. Scientist, Division of Social Sciences & Training, ICAR-IIHR and Dr. Sridhar Gutam, Senior Scientist, Project Coordinator (Fruits) Unit, ICAR-IIHR.
