Future visions on science communication took place from 22nd to 24th November 2022 at the SISSA main campus in Via Bonomea 265, Trieste, Italy. All the events are free and open and will be streamed live.

The goal of “Future visions on science communication” is to broaden the dialogue and enhance the network between different actors in the science communication field beyond the Italian panorama, in which the Interdisciplinary Laboratory is a well-known hub, having organized the “Italian Conference on Science Communication” for fifteen years.

The meeting aims at bringing together scholars and professionals interested in exploring some of the most significant international trends. The seminars are organized as part of the educational activities of the Masters’ course in Science Communication “Franco Prattico”, which is in its thirtieth year of activity.

From climate change to artificial intelligence, from pandemics to environmental sustainability, the challenges of disseminating and sharing scientific knowledge are intertwined with the most serious contemporary concerns and with deep changes in the relationship between science and society. “Future visions on science communication” wishes to contribute to the discussion by addressing these challenges, with different formats and themes.

Programme

Tuesday, November 22nd

9:45 am - Institutional greetings

Room 005

10.00-11.00 am - Communicating Science Diplomacy

Room 005
Jan-Marco Mueller, Max Paoli (moderator)

Communicating the relationship between science and international politics involves unique challenges and considerable complexity. In this meeting the two experts will discuss strategies, mistakes to avoid and perspectives in communicating science diplomacy.

Jan-Marco Mueller is currently in charge of science diplomacy at DG Research and Innovation (RTD) in the European Commission.
Max Paoli is Programme Coordinator at UNESCO-TWAS, where he manages fellowships, research grants and awards.

3.00-4.30 pm - Communicating AI, and communicating with AI: challenges and opportunities

Room 005
Ivana Bartoletti, Roberto Trotta, Elisabetta Tola (moderator)

The talk will analyze how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the world of public communication, the way we consume information and news. But how can we communicate the risks and opportunities of the algorithmic society, where algorithms have an editorial, allocative and decision-making function, with the risk of software discrimination and inequalities?

Ivana Bartoletti is the Global Data Privacy Officer at Wipro, the leading international information technology, consulting and business process services company. Ivana is an internationally recognised thought leader in the fields of privacy, data protection and responsible technology.

Roberto Trotta is head of SISSA’s Theoretical and Scientific Data Science group. Previously he was the Director of the Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication at Imperial College London.

Elisabetta Tola is a data-journalist and science communicator, founder of the science communication agency “Formicablu”.

Wednesday, November 23rd

3.00 - 4.30 pm - Science communication journals between academy and practice

Big Meeting Room
Michelle Riedlinger, Nico Pitrelli, Yurij Castelfranchi, Matteo Merzagora, Paola Rodari (moderator)

Twenty years ago, the Journal of Science Communication – JCOM was born. An online, open source, peer reviewed international platform JCOM has aimed at bridging scholars and practitioners across the continents, taking care of giving voice also to communities not well represented in other academic journals. What is today, and what aims at being in the future?

Michelle Riedlinger is Professor at the School of communication at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT; Australia). She is the current Editor in Chief of JCOM.

Nico Pitrelli is the Director of the Masters’ course in Science Communication “Franco Prattico” and Head of the Communications at SISSA. He has been the second Editor in Chief of JCOM.

Yurij Castelfranchi is Professor of Sociology of S&T – Dep. of Sociology and Anthropology – Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG; Brasil). He has been one of the founder of JCOM

Matteo Merzagora is Director of science mediation and education at Universcience, Paris, and former director of Association Traces

Paola Rodari works at SISSA Medialab as head of the Public Engagement group. She was JCOM project manager for several years.  

5.00 - 6.30 pm - Presentation of the podcast “Paper - come la scienza diventa scienza”

This event will be in Italian
Big Meeting Room

“Paper” is a podcast from Sissa Medialab in media partnership with Le Scienze, created by Federica Sgorbissa. It talks about open access, peer review, predatory journals and much more, to tell why today it is so important to “publish” science.

Marco Cattaneo is a journalist and Director of the magazines National Geographic, Le Scienze and Mind.

Federica Sgorbissa is a journalist and currently works in the communication office at SISSA Medialab.

Thursday, November 24th

10.30-12.00 am - Trust in science and the cultural authority of scientists

Room 128-129
Martin Bauer, Nico Pitrelli (moderator)

To what extent does science have the last word, should have the last word, or be constraints by public opinion like most other institutions in society? The answer to these questions depend also on the trust that people grant to science, scientific research and scientists. Their cultural authority varies depending on the contexts. In this keynote lecture we will explore what are the concepts and tools used by social researchers to measure ‘trust in science’ around the world.

Martin Bauer is Director of Msc Social & Public Communication, Professor of Social Psychology – Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science – The London School of Economics and Political Science.

Nico Pitrelli is the Director of the Masters’ course in Science Communication “Franco Prattico” and of the Communication Unit at SISSA.

3.00 - 4.30 pm - Open Access: reflections based on JHEP's experience

Room 128-129
Eva Babonich, Maria Bellantone, Giulia Zanderighi, Fabio Zwirner, Aldo Rampioni (moderator)

On the 25th anniversary of the Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP), pioneering open access journal done by scientists for scientists, representatives of libraries, publishers and researchers share their views on the road towards full accessibility of scientific results.

Eva Babonich is Head of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Library. Previously, she was responsible for the TU Graz Library.

Maria Bellantone is a scholarly communications expert working at EURAC Research. Previously, she was Publishing Director for Physical Sciences at F1000, Senior Publishing Editor at Springer Nature, Senior Editor of Nature Materials and a member of the European Physical Journals (EPJ) Steering Committee.

Giulia Zanderighi is an internationally recognized expert in the field of collider phenomenology. In 2018, she was appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Physics in Munich. She is a member of the editorial board of JHEP.

Fabio Zwirner is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Padua. He was Vice-President of the European Research Council (ERC) until 2020. Representing the Italian government, he chairs the Steering Committee of ICTP. He is currently Editor of JHEP.

Aldo Rampioni is CEO of SISSA Medialab, which publishes JHEP in collaboration with Springer Nature.

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