Pre-conference session today with the following link: https://wowroom.ie.edu/class/e9b6d128-7297-42ae-843e-519ac29e1313

Sign up if you haven't already!

The objective today is to meet/greet and begin brainstorming on reaching a broader audience with the topics of the AScUS community.

Here are some questions to get you going! Please respond in the thread if you like!

1. What have you experienced as outreach that changed your path or helped guide you?


2. Have you done any activities to reach a general audience and share knowledge?


3. What other outreach ideas have you observed / admired that worked?


4. Where do you think activating dialogue will be most impactful (with other professionals, the community groups, youth)?

I am so energized by today's pre-conference meeting and look forward to this and other Discussions over the next week.
I will post notes from today's meeting here along with any links so be sure to check back with this thread.
Thanks AScUS committee for bringing everyone together in this forum!

with appreciation,
Maureen

Hello Maureen, I couldn't join your pre-session today but I'll be there at the full-session. I think your topic is highly relevant that why I've been exploring different ways of not only communicating but also doing research using alternative strategies. I'd like to contribute by responding to your questions here:
1. People doing Art for Sustainability (different types of art) showed me the importance of not only touching peoples minds (with articles, documentaries...) but also peoples hearts (live theatre, street performances...) when communicating science. A well-know example is https://juliesbicycle.com for the people interested (they are just one example among the many that exist all over the world bridging important subjects with art).
2. I have participated in several projects and events reaching alternative non-scientific audiences. I've used theatre, music and more traditional talks to engage people. I am currently establishing the Pint of Science community in the city I live in (Troyes, France). For the people interested in Pint of Science, here is the link https://pintofscience.com. I am also creating a podcast on the subject of Justice (to be launched during the conference) and trans-disciplinary research.
3. The work done by the Network for Transdisciplinary Research from the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (http://www.transdisciplinarity.ch/en/td-net/Aktuell/td-net-News.html) is very inspiring to me. There are many examples also coming from the global south I'd be happy to share.
4. I think it can be more impactful to target youth groups already engaged in the topic you want to share. However, its crucial to engage with all the actors in society as a whole (probably using different techniques tailored to each group).

Thank you Santiago! Great list of resources and also looking forward to having you join the Discussion.

Everyone:
The link to slides from yesterday here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1skGbXzfJ9GPCVvTCtM83XIWXuI_Rf1hs?usp=sharing
feel free to upload any thing you would like to share with the group.

NOTES FROM THE PRE-CONFERENCE SESSION:
Talked about defining NEEDS, AUDIENCE, desired OUTCOME to inform the METHOD for outreach. A good thought model to brainstorm ideas about how to reach out to different parts of society.

For our path to action, the group seemed most interested in outreach oriented towards YOUTH and WITHIN ESTABLISHED ACADEMIC NETWORKS.

It would have been nice to do an interactive thought cloud because in our breakouts we got some really rich ideas. Instead, I will summarise in a list below with key words in BOLD:

-MENTORSHIP was a way that many received outreach to take their own path
-using PLAIN, NON-SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE is important, especially for youth
-need to become FEARLESS to activate outreach platform (i.e. social media can be brutal!! : ( )
-correspondingly, SUPPORT NETWORK for outreach is a great idea.
-use a position to PROMOTE CHANGE within existing (academic) networks through introducing concepts not usually taught in the canon.
-practice DESIGN DIFFERENTLY
-let's go BEYOND ACADEMIA!
-outreach needs to be INCLUSIVE, in order to CONNECT (with youth) w/out belittling
-voice must be AUTHENTIC and GENUINE
-the outreach should be built on ENGAGED LISTENING to the AUDIENCE
-how is it RELEVANT?
-should be INTRAGENERATIONAL, RECIPROCAL and CAPTURE IMAGINATION
-avoid PSYCHOLOGICAL FATIGUE
-EMPOWER A POSITIVE PATH FORWARD

That's all for now! More communication to follow over the next week in preparation for the Discussion. As contributions come I will organise and share. You can post files to the google drive https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1skGbXzfJ9GPCVvTCtM83XIWXuI_Rf1hs?usp=sharing

All the best and enjoy the pre-conference today!
Maureen

Dear all,

maybe it is interesting to point out the Scientists for Future Initiative. Scientists voluntarily working in science communication, education and awareness-rising in areas of climate change and sustainability. This includes public statemements, but also numerous other outreach activities in universities, schools and other organizations.
The initaitive started in the german speaking regions, but we are having increasing activity worldwide. The international website will be online soon; in the meantime you can have a look at the german website (there are some contents also in english; link below), sign the declaration and join any regional group. We have a weekly zoom meeting for anybody who wants to get involved and contribute, or just have a look at what is going on.

Contact in Spain:

www.s4f-espana.es // still under construction; just started

s4f-espana@outlook.com

The declaration:

https://www.scientists4future.org/stellungnahme/statement-text/

Next Friday and Saturday the first S4F Conference is happening, and there is also an international track (the rest is still in german). Anyone who would like to participate or listen what is going on on international level, let me know (s4f-espana@outlook.com) and we will send you an invitation.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Jens

thanks Jens!

For tomorrow's Discussion Session we will be living up to the Action in Actionable Science!
Even if you were not able to make the Pre-Conference Session, it will be easy to jump in.
Please join us! Wherever you are in your path to outreach your input will be very valuable.

The session will be brief group discussions built around the following three breakouts:

Breakout 1: Back of the envelope exercise: use a systems framework to outline an outreach strategy (i.e. connect the science to the audience)
Breakout 2: Develop a personal Path to Action: combining your knowledge, passion and goals
Breakout 3: Brainstorm a group Path to Action: how can we support and help each other with an outreach network?

See you tomorrow in the WOW room!

I'd love to, but I can't. I am co-modeating the open Data session, which runs in parallel. :-(

good luck Jens! we will miss you.

Everyone, here is link to the slides for Discusison @12pm.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1skGbXzfJ9GPCVvTCtM83XIWXuI_Rf1hs?usp=sharing

No need to review prior, but maybe start to think about the following.

I want to reach _______ audience.

I want to share my knowledge about _________ with them.

I want to activate the audience to _______.

I need support from ______.

I will be happy when I see _______.

Have a pen and paper handy or copy/paste onto your computer!

I will stop by briefly around 13:00 (unless you are in a break-ou session then); there is a presentation by Paul where I can drop out for a moment..

Discussion starting now! please join!

We created an interdisciplinary course to train Creative Media students on the artistic representation of climate change data. http://weather.scm.cityu.edu.hk/ Maybe next time we do this class with urban metabolism.

Thanks everyone that was awesome.
I pdf'd the chat transcript and posted to the drive
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1skGbXzfJ9GPCVvTCtM83XIWXuI_Rf1hs

Would be great if we could continue building on this one-stop-shop for 'existing outreach networks' that everyone in this community is already a part of.
Already so inspired by what you guys have shared @Sanitago, @Shauhrat and @Jens and the shares in the session :)

Hello Everyone!

I hope this email finds you well!

Just an FYI, the AScUS committee is asking for a Path to Action from all discussion sessions by July 5th!
You should expect to hear from me in the next few days with a brief detailing our discussion and proposing a path to action for the group.
I will be looking forward to getting your feedback/comments/input and am excited for the opportunities to keep this going.

Best regards,

Maureen