Scientific communication to the public, or MAKING SCIENCE EASY, is critical for the future of
our society,
especially in our era of escalating scientific advancements amidst a continual surge of fake
news and misinformation.
According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [1], effective
science communication
should engage the right tools for the right purpose, which can be any or all of the
following:
#1 share recent findings and excitement for science
#2 increase public appreciation of science
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of science
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or behavior of people
#5 ensure that a diversity of perspectives about science held by different groups are
considered when solutions to societal problems are pursued
The Science of Science Communication identifies two different paradigms [2]:
a) dissemination and
b) participation
Based on the above, we carried out diverse activities to address all
objectives and include both communication paradigms.
During 2021, the pandemic of COVID-19 greatly challenged our system of education and its
constituents. However, our team saw an opportunity
to interact with people by offering multiple well-thought-out activities and events in mostly
quarantined periods for a variety of audiences.
We designed different activities for all different age groups: pre-teens, teenagers, youth,
adults. We also designed specific activities for
special groups: women (girls) and unaccompanied refugee children hosted in the Alexandroupoli
ARSIS shelter (more about these activities under
Inclusivity).
We designed and delivered science communication activities for the following target groups of
general public:
Apart from specially developed material as described below, each communication event included
the exhibit of the project banner
and was also supported by handing out the project leaflet
and a variety
of 3D printed project memorabilia.
| Goal |
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of science
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or
behavior of
people
science
#5 ensure diversity of society’s perspectives are
considered
when solutions are pursued
|
| Paradigm |
Participation (followed by a dissemination session)
|
| Target audience |
General public, adults
|
| Dissemination |
During major events, such as HELEXPO, voluntary blood donation
events, vaccine
centers and via the team’s social media
|
| Designing the Material |
The material was designed to trigger curiosity and eventually
convey knowledge
while changing perceptions in several central concepts of
biology and synthetic
biology. Design methods included team brainstorming, literature
research, team
investigators’ research experience and the input from the DUTH
Ethics Committee
(via comments preceding approval of the survey protocol)
|
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
The survey was designed to include questions with a TRUE/FALSE
answer, meant to
trigger curiosity on biology and synthetic biology science
concepts. The
participants were not given the correct answer immediately but
were directed to
the team’s social media and other planned educational activities
to find the
correct answer and interact with the team members on the
scientific concepts
included in the survey.
|
| Impact |
Total of 277 participants
|
|
|
| Goal |
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of science
#2 increase public appreciation of science
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or
behavior of people
science
|
| Paradigm |
Dissemination |
| Target audience |
General public, all ages, emphasis on teenagers, youth, adults
|
| Dissemination |
Via team’s social media. Available on-line in YouTube |
| Designing the Material |
Special effort to break down knowledge about central synthetic
biology concepts
and the scientific procedure. Use of easy to grasp graphics,
specifically
designed by the team, animation and funny approach to explain
science.
|
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
Via comments and discussion in YouTube and the team’s social
media. |
| Impact |
Four videos with a total of 1652 views |
|
|
| Goal |
#2 increase public appreciation of science
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of
science
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or
behavior of people
science
|
| Paradigm |
Participation, dissemination |
| Target audience |
General public |
| Dissemination |
Material available on our social media platforms |
| Designing the Material |
We draw on our education and experience to create a number
of introductory
biology science quizzes to engage the public into fun
scientific activities. The
design was driven by basic biology knowledge and was also
inspired by basic
questions asked by members of our team with a background
other than biology and
science. To create an integrated fun experience for the
public, we added science
fun facts and famous science quotes. |
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
Via posts, comments and other reactions on the social media.
|
| Impact |
Total of 70 science quizzes, complemented by 20 science fun
facts and famous
quotes. |
|
|
| Goal |
#2 increase public appreciation of science
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of
science
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or
behavior of
people
science
|
| Paradigm |
Participation |
| Target audience |
General public, adults, youth and teenagers |
| Dissemination |
The event was held in conjunction with a voluntary blood
donation event in
the
center of the Alexandroupoli city and was advertised via
social media and
mailing lists of Volunteer Blood Donor groups in
Alexandroupolis |
| Designing the Material |
We designed hands-on experiments on basic biology concepts
using everyday
material to show that working with biology is not
necessarily a high-cost
activity that requires highly specialized infrastructure.
The design
considered
biosafety issues and measures against COVID-19 pandemic.
|
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
Experiments were repeated as visitors passed by. A rolling
presentation and
a
working microscope on site triggered fruitful discussions on
biology and
synthetic biology concepts. |
| Impact |
More than 60 visitors. |
|
|
| Goal |
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or
behavior of
people
science
#1 share recent findings and excitement for
science
#2 increase public appreciation of science
|
| Paradigm |
Dissemination and Participation |
| Target audience |
General public, adults and youth |
| Dissemination |
A workshop invited by and implemented at TEDx DUTH 2021. The
workshop and
the
material used there in was disseminated via TEDx DUTH social
media and media
advertisement channels and the team’s social media. |
| Designing the Material |
The workshop presentation and public interaction was
designed to present the
collateral findings of the team after one and half year
collaborative work
on a
scientific project. Namely, how to manage with detail in our
lives, how to
identify when detail is important and when not. We drew from
our experience
as a
newly founded research team, with the goal to convey our
findings and at the
same time highlight the fact that science is a process that
also improves
personal skills. |
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
The workshop was designed as an open dialogue with the
audience. |
| Impact |
More than 30 participants |
|
|
| Goal |
#1 share recent findings and excitement for
science
#2 increase public appreciation of science
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of
science
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or
behavior of
people
science
#5 ensure diversity of society’s perspectives
are considered
when
solutions are pursued
|
| Paradigm |
Dissemination |
| Target audience |
General public, adults |
| Dissemination |
Via team’s social media and during HELEXPO 2021 |
| Designing the Material |
We developed a thorough presentation of our project in
layman’s term, to
deliver
to the international commercial exhibition 85th HELEXPO,
Thessaloniki,
Greece as
part of the Democritus University of Thrace booth in the
Akademia Pavilion.
The
presentation was given to visitors of the booth for the
entire duration of
the
exhibition from 11 to 19 September 2021. Our focus was to
highlight the
burden
of osteoarthritis and explain the potential of synthetic
biology to develop
novel solution for the cure of this disease and other health
problems alike.
The
presentation was specially designed to address common
misconceptions about
biosafety issues and help confront fake news such as those
we experience
about
the COVID-19 vaccine technology. |
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
The presentation was given in an interactive manner,
tailored to the needs
of
each visitor. |
| Impact |
More than 350 visitors, including the Greek Minister (Niki
Kerameos) and
Deputy
Minister of Education (Aggelos Syrigos), the Dean of
Democritus University
of
Thrace (Prof. Alexandros Polychronidis), and the Mayor of
Alexandroupolis
(Mr.
Ioannis Zampoukis), the Chairman of Deloitte Alexander
Competence Center and
numerous other policy makers, company representatives,
researchers and the
general public. |
|
|
| Goal |
#1 share recent findings and excitement for
science
#2 increase public appreciation of science
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of
science
#4 influence the opinions, policy preferences or
behavior of
people
science
|
| Paradigm |
Dissemination |
| Target audience |
General public, youth and adults |
| Dissemination |
Via team’s social media and ECESCON 2021 dissemination
channels |
| Designing the Material |
We developed a thorough presentation of our project in
layman’s term,
to deliver to ECESCON 2021 participants. The presentation
was given to
visitors
of the online
‘booth’ at the virtual exhibition held during the 2021
Greek Electrical &
Computer Engineering
Student Conference
Our focus was to highlight the burden of osteoarthritis and
explain the
potential of synthetic biology to develop novel solution for
the cure of
this
disease and other health problems alike. We emphasized the
role of
engineering
and computing in the design and development of health
solutions. The aim was
to
raise awareness of biomedical applications for the
electrical and computer
engineering.
|
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
The presentation and discussion was given in an interactive
manner, tailored
to
the needs of each visitor. |
| Impact |
More than 30 online visitors. |
|
|
| Goal |
#2 increase public appreciation of science
#3 increase knowledge and understanding of
science
|
| Paradigm |
Participation, dissemination |
| Target audience |
General public |
| Dissemination |
Via social media and mailing lists of Volunteer Blood Donor
groups in
Alexandroupolis and Greece |
| Designing the Material |
We developed a comprehensible presentation of our team’s
project and iGEM
competition to present during blood donation events
co-organized by our team
and
Volunteer Blood Donation Groups in Alexandroupoli. We also
designed a live
interaction with volunteer blood donors during the donation
session. We
strived
to highlight that cientists are also aware of common
societal challenges and
participate in community events. We disseminated the
know-how of organizing
such
an event to our iGEM partner teams. |
| Encouraging Open Dialogue |
During the blood donation events, we challenged participants
to consider
synthetic biology breakthroughs. We also outreached in the
university
community
to invite people to participate in community activities.
Finally, we
initiated
an open dialogue on societal issues and volunteerism with
other iGEM teams.
|
| Impact |
Total of 53 blood units, engagement with more than 53
citizens and
encouragement
of organization of more such events held by other parties.
|
|
|
