Need to empower people with relevant info: Expert

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 24

Pushpa Gujral Science City, jointly with Vigyan Prasar, organised an international webinar on Science Journalism: ‘From Print to Digital’, to provide a platform for budding journalists to improve their skills and develop professionalism in science communication.

The webinar was attended by more than 100 participants, including young journalists, students and teachers of journalism and mass communication from different universities and colleges across the country. It was supported by Vigyan Prasar.

Dr Neelima Jerath, Director General, Science City, in her welcome address, said science journalism has been progressively developing in India in terms of quality and quantity. It is for science communication to effectively place public interest at the heart of ‘how’ and ‘what’ of scientific knowledge produced, shared and applied. Digital science magazines, social media, feature services and programmes have led to progress in the field. Hence, there is a growing need for digital media skills among journalists and communicators.

Dr Rintu Nath, scientist, Vigyan Prasar, during his talk, said reporting and disseminating scientific content through print, digital, electronic, and social media needs to be taken up on a large scale and Vigyan Prasar was constantly making endeavours in this direction. Time has come to realise that empowering people with relevant information will go a long way in creating a society where everybody will reason and act scientifically.

Kathryn Tuccelli, an alumni of Purdue University and Communication Analyst and Content Strategist at OXY, USA, delivering her key-note talk on ‘Effective Science Communication in a digital world’, said, the digital medium of mass communication was the most effective to get in touch with people living in the remotest corners of the world and delivering messages to defined target audience comprehensively.

Nishat Nayla, SDG Educator, Bangladesh, spoke on how digitisation of journalism has improved lives of people of Bangladesh. Dustin Wenzel, an alumni of the University of Texas at Austin, USA, and a communications consultant, in his interesting talk, said, it was a proven fact that there existed no parallel system that holds superiority over the far-reaching and efficient delivery mechanism of the mass media.

An essay competition on Swatantrata ka Amrit Mahotsav was also organised as a part of ongoing celebrations of the 75th Independence Day. About 200 essay entries were received from the participants.