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.
Opening Keynote
“Science communication and storytelling to make science more equitable and inclusive”
The ASTC Virtual 2020 Annual Conference will begin with a keynote from Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer, who will discuss a framework and concrete examples to help attendees think about how they can use science communication and storytelling to make their own work more equitable and inclusive.
Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer (@moefeliu)
Director of Science Communications & Science Outreach, Ciencia Puerto Rico; and Associate Director of Diversity and Communications Training, iBiology
Making science communication more inclusive, equitable, and representative of diverse identities, cultures, and life experiences requires an intentional reframing of our historical approaches. Although we live in an era of abundant scientific information, historically marginalized and minoritized individuals and communities are largely overlooked and undervalued in science communication efforts. Dr. Feliú-Mójer will present a framework to help science communication researchers and practitioners, scientist-communicators, and storytellers examine their practices and approaches in order to make the communication of science more inclusive. The framework features four dimensions: awareness, perspectives, challenges, and action.
She will use examples from her work with Ciencia Puerto Rico and iBiology to illustrate how to apply the framework. Among the examples Dr. Feliú-Mójer will discuss are the “Background to Breakthrough” series of short films expanding the definition of who can become a scientist by showcasing how scientists of color have succeeded because of their backgrounds, her work in how to make scicomm culturally relevant, and how science communication can help us step up at this critical moment—including recent efforts related to COVID-19.
The Opening and Keynote Session will be held 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, October 19. If you’re not yet signed up for ASTC 2020, register now.