Workshop by CSIR-NIScPR to Promote Science Communication in Assamese
Promoting science communication in Indian languages is important to break the language barrier and make the process inclusive. With an aim to promote science communication activities in Assamese, CSIR- National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (NIScPR) organised a workshop on ‘Engaging and creative ways of communicating science in Assamese: Popular stories, videos, podcasts and social media’ on 6th March, 2023. The major aim of the workshop was to train the budding science communicators and create a network of communicators to strengthen science communication activities in Assamese. The workshop was conducted in hybrid mode.
The workshop began with an introduction by Dr Paramananda Barman, Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR, which outlined the importance of communicating science in Indian languages and the use of modern platforms like social media in addition to popular science writing.
Prof Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NIScPR, welcomed the experts and participants joining the session. In her address, Prof Aggarwal elaborated the importance of communicating science in regional languages and the benefits of having workshops that focus on a specific language such as Assamese. She also described the role of CSIR-NIScPR and the mission SVASTIK (Scientifically Validated Societal Traditional Knowledge) in providing a platform for communicating the traditional knowledge of India in 16 regional languages including Assamese. Prof Aggarwal also mentioned CSIR-NIScPR’s collaboration with CSIR-NEIST to promote science communication in Assamese.
Dr Bornali Sarma, University of Delhi, delivered a lecture on “Popularisation of Science Communication in Assamese Language: Evolution-Efforts-Effects”, which covered the basics of science communication, the need for science communication and the ongoing efforts to communicate science in Assamese.
Subhra Priyadarshini, Chief Editor, Nature India, discussed the growth of new tools and platforms such as social media and AI to communicate science. However, she also emphasised the importance of science writing as a foundation. She also pointed out how the use of regional language to communicate science can make the content more relatable to the audience and how efforts such as translations can be used to take these local stories to a global audience.
The Technical Session I of the workshop was on “Science Filmmaking” and included a talk by Shri Vivek Kannadi, Science Media Centre, IISER Pune, on the importance of a visual medium like film to communicate science. He also covered important aspects of filmmaking such as the script and how it should be structured.
The Technical Session II on “Popular Science Writing” included talks by leading Assamese science communicators Shri Abhijit Sarma Barua, Dr Dinesh Chandra Goswami and Dr Mantu Bhuyan. Abhijit Sharma Barua outlined the various strategies of science communication to attract readers. He highlighted the key points for writing a popular science article and added examples of how science comics, scitoons and science fiction writing can be effective in attracting science readers as well as disseminating scientific findings to a lay audience. Dr Dinesh Chandra Goswami discussed the need of science communication in light of recent scientific advancements such as genetically modified crops, among others. He also noted the significance of science communication in fostering a scientific mindset in the common people and winning over the public’s confidence in scientific advancements. Dr Goswami also mentioned the value of skill development in helping science communicators to overcome challenges. Dr Mantu Bhuyan emphasised the importance accuracy and relevance to the current developments in science writing and used the example of the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson which raised awareness about DDT and its effect on the environment.
The Technical Session III on “Social media, Reels, Shorts and Podcasts for SciComm” included talks by Dr H S Sudhira, Director, Gubbi labs, on “Social Media for Science Communication”, and Dr Charu Lata, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR and Dr Paramananda Barman on “Reels, Shorts and Podcast: SVASTIK as a case study”. Dr H S Sudhira spoke about the benefits and importance of social media for scientists and how having a good online footprint can be helpful in reaching a wider audience. Dr Charu Lata provided glimpses of SVASTIK (a project on disseminating scientifically validated traditional knowledge), its objective, and its footfall in the digital space. Dr Paramananda Barman and team members demonstrated the creation of digital content such as infographics, videos, and podcasts using free tools available online.
The technical sessions were followed by a discussion with Shri Hasan Jawaid Khan, Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR and Editor, Science Reporter and the participants on the various aspects of science communication and saw some interesting questions from the participants on the challenges of creative writing and science communication.
The Valedictory Session included remarks from Dr Sujit Bhattacharya, Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR, Dr Kalyani Medhi, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEIST, and Shri Madhurjya Saikia, CSIR-NEIST, on the various topics discussed during the course of the workshop followed by a vote of thanks by Dr Manish Mohan Gore, Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR.