As we count down to the start of the ASTC Virtual 2020 Annual Conference, we’ll be highlighting the plenary sessions that will bring the community together.
Alan J. Friedman Science Center Dialogues
“The role of public engagement in science for combating misinformation and building community capacity for solving problems”
The Alan J. Friedman Science Center Dialogues are conducted in memory and tribute to the founding director of the New York Hall of Science, Queens. The Friedman Dialogues—sponsored by The Kavli Foundation—connect science-center professionals, science educators, and science communicators to timely and thought-provoking issues emerging in science and society. The session is presented in the spirit of the commitment Alan had to the science-center field and the issues and interests that were reflected in his own writings and presentations over the years.
This year’s 2020 Friedman Dialogues will focus on the role of public engagement in science for combating misinformation and building community capacity for solving problems. We hope to foster an engaged discussion about how scientists, science-engagement professionals, public officials, and community members can more effectively engage the public in science—and how public engagement will not only help combat misinformation, but also strengthen the relationship between communities and science, and therefore develop community-level agency to leverage science to solve problems and create opportunity.
The Friedman Dialogues will involve three experts who have been thinking deeply about how to combat misinformation and engage the public in addressing challenges:
Dr. Sara Yeo
Associate Professor, University of Utah
Dialogue moderator and discussion catalyst
Dr. Sudip Parikh
Chief Executive Officer, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Executive Publisher, Science family of journals
Dialogue participant
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Representing the State of Rhode Island
Dialogue participant
The 2020 Friedman Dialogues will be held 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 21. If you’re not yet signed up for ASTC 2020, register now.