Palampur 21 Oct. : A two-day national workshop, “Communicate to Connect: Science for All,” was jointly organized by CSIR-NIScPR and CSIR-IHBT in Palampur from October 14 to 15, 2025. The event brought together leading scientists and communicators to find new strategies for making science accessible to the public.
Key Highlights:
- Combating Misinformation: Speakers, including a director from Microsoft India, stressed the urgent need to combat misinformation, ensure fact-checked content, and provide oversight, especially in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Two-Way Communication: Experts called for an “army of communicators” to deliver verified science from the labs to the public and emphasized a crucial “two-way flow of knowledge” between the scientific community and the land.
- Integrating Science: The importance of integrating science communication into all aspects of governance and public life was highlighted, drawing lessons from successful public health campaigns like polio eradication.
- Scientific Temper with Empathy: The workshop stressed that effective science communication must be based on scientific understanding combined with empathy and feelings.
- CSIR’s Commitment: The event underscored CSIR’s commitment to fostering a rational and inclusive society by bridging communities, empowering marginalized groups, and establishing public feedback mechanisms to continuously improve scientific innovations.
The workshop also included brainstorming sessions on the media’s role, popular science writing, and utilizing diverse formats like social media, science fiction, and poetry for outreach.
