Mae Bennett, a student in the author’s class, practices fly-casting on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans.
Kyle Encar/Loyola University New Orleans
Students learned not just a practical outdoor skill, but how to explain what they were learning to curious observers.
A voter marks a ballot during Kentucky’s primary elections in May 2023.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images
Political scientists have begun to investigate ways AI can help people understand politics better and get more voices into the public sphere.
Proposed solutions to malnutrition included providing school breakfast.
Richard van der Spuy/Shutterstock
Failing to understand what communities consider important greatly diminishes the responsiveness of policies to the actual needs of individuals.
The degree to which Canadians support effective international co-operation, as essential to future pandemic preparedness and response, will shape Canada’s positioning on the draft international pandemic treaty.
(Shutterstock)
As negotiations for an international pandemic treaty get underway, public engagement is in the best interests of Canadians. Here is how the federal government is consulting affected populations.
Low voter turnout in recent Canadian elections sharply illustrates how the public is disconnected from political institutions and their representatives. How can they be re-engaged?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Problems with party politics abound, largely driven by the fusion of executive and legislative powers that enforces party discipline. Here’s how to get the public more involved.
A sheltered cycling lane in Cambridge, England.
Robert Evans/Alamy Stock Photo
A new report suggests the government has less to fear from promoting sustainable lifestyles than it expects.
Not engaging Black communities meaningfully in health and other policy-making processes has been a critical failure, reflecting a history of systemic racism, marginalization and political indifference.
(Nappy.co)
While policy organizations publicly claim that they want input from racialized and other marginalized communities, many fail to listen to, accept or integrate what those communities have to say.
Scientists from the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa at Scifest Africa 2019 engage with visitors.
The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
Scientists enjoyed informing, exciting and inspiring the public.
Scientists talk about their research because they want their expertise to guide real-world decisions.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
A survey of over a thousand scientists reveals that their goal when communicating about their work is to help the rest of us make evidence-based decisions that draw on scientific findings.
Shutterstock
Ten years on from the MPs expenses scandal, there remains in Westminster a lingering culture of elitism and a ‘we know best attitude’.
The author as presenter.
Climate Race Film
We’re running out of time – so we can’t leave it all to Greta Thunburg and David Attenborough.
You have a lot of work to do before you step up to the mic.
Chinnapong/Shutterstock.com
Connecting with an audience in a productive way can mean first figuring out what they think, feel and believe before you start sharing your message.
Professor Greta Dreyer, head of the Gynaecological Oncology Unit at the University of Pretoria, being interviewed by SABC TV.
Mariki Uitenweerde, Eyescape Photography
The new White Paper can help scientists understand better why public engagement is crucial.
The map that went viral.
Sukhmani Mantel
Maps can show “the big picture” to lots and lots of people in an engaging and colourful way.
Public bikes are meant to complement a city’s existing mass transit network, so the location of docking stations is critical.
MusikAnimal/Wikimedia
Under 10 percent of new Citi Bike and Divvy bike docks are sited where residents suggested using interactive online maps, a new study shows. But that doesn’t mean city officials weren’t listening.
An image from the International Space Station captures plumes of smoke from California wildfires on August 4, 2018.
NASA
From the curious to the serious – a bird’s eye view of the unique ways in which The Conversation covers the world.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation
Scientific ideas can get lost in forests of words that lack structure and overuse complex language. Just like Sleeping Beauty, they need rescuing.
Scientists: your social media platforms need you!
www.shutterstock.com
Scientists have never been more needed to challenge division, misinformation and harassment online.
A diversity of voices is important in science communication.
Michael D Brown/Shutterstock
Scientists can be powerful influencers and role models. So there’s reason for concern when the same names and faces dominate coverage and visibility.
Wind turbines are becoming as American as haybales.
MattJP
While wind energy is often perceived as controversial, that may be due to the tyranny and power of unrepresentative anecdotes.