Workshop on Science Journalism in Sri Lanka

The workshop was organized by UNESCO New Delhi, Science and technology Policy Asian Network (STEPAN) and the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, from 7 to 10 September 2008.

the workshop was designed to develop the skills of scientists/journalists in Science Journalism and to establish a centre for network and regional cooperation. The workshop provided a platform for the scientists and the journalists to improve their skills, exchange ideas and build synergies and in general to advance the profession of science journalism.

Representatives of seven countries from South Asia and the Pacific made country presentations. The country papers described the communication mechanisms adopted; available expertise in communication within the agencies; training programmes implemented to strengthen the science communication skills; problems and difficulties encountered; success stories and lessons learned. The workshop was inaugurated by Minister of Science & Technology of Sri Lanka, Prof. Tissa Vitarana, who mentioned about the tremendous gap between the scientific community and the public. He further added that it was vital to bridge this gap for the national development and that science communication will play a major role in contributing to the development of the country as a knowledge economy.

The following topics were addressed during the technical sessions:

Challenges in science communication - scientists/journalists point of view

Science news writing – hands-on experience

Basic concepts of science/public communication

Contemporary communication

Phenomenon using new media technologies

Script writing for science documentaries/docudramas – hands on experience

Science feature writing

Impact of science communication

Web-based science communication & SciDev.Net

Interviewing techniques – media & scientists

Source: UNESCO New Delhi -  Publication Date: 15-04-2009