11 de December de 2024

Science For Change co-organises the EUROSCICOMM 2024 conference, putting climate crisis management through science communication in the spotlight

On 2 and 3 December, the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication of the University of Valencia hosted the first international EUROSCICOMM 2024 conference, which brought together experts and institutions to reflect on how science communication can improve the management of climate emergencies.

Science communication plays a crucial role in the management of climate emergencies. This was made clear at EUROSCICOMM 2024, the conference co-organised by the University of Valencia, Science For Change and FECYT, within the framework of the European project COALESCE. Held on 2 and 3 December, the conference explored how communication and technology can contribute to minimising the impacts of crises such as the DANA that hit the Valencian Community in October.

Among the highlights was the presentation of the Crisis Navigator, a tool developed in the COALESCE project designed to support more effective crisis management through scientific communication strategies during the different phases of an emergency.

From the recent case of the DANA in Valencia, Science For Change and UVEG organised a participatory workshop in which they analysed how the institutions of the Valencian Community -such as the Generalitat, AEMET and Emergencies- used the social network X to transmit precautionary messages. Through this exercise, the Navigator was tested on the basis of a real case and specific recommendations were obtained to unify messages and avoid misinformation in key moments of pre-crisis and crisis, which will serve to improve this tool in future versions.

The interest generated by the workshop and the contributions of the public present, which included students, the research community from different scientific fields and journalists, was very positive. Moreover, some of the recommendations obtained - promoting the incorporation and training of science communication staff in public administrations in crisis management, promoting access to and improvement of crisis management guides and the inclusion of a specific section on science communication - reflect well the current period of reflection and self-criticism.

Joana Magalhães

Science Communication Area Manager at SFC

The EUROSCICOMM 2024 conference, funded by the Generalitat Valenciana, the COALESCE project and the Department of Language Theory and Communication Sciences of the University of Valencia, has highlighted the importance of co-creation and innovation in science communication to address the current global challenges we face.