The 14th Indian Science Communication Congress (ISCC-2014) on the
theme of ‘Communication Strategies for Science Governance’ was held at Indian
National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi from 25-29 December. The conference
was organized by Indian Science Writers Association (ISWA) in association
with Jan Sewa Ashram, Water Portal and Spandan. It was catalyzed and
supported by National Council of Science and Technology Communication
(NCSTC), DST New Delhi.
The conference was inaugurated in the morning of 26 th December by
ceremonial lighting of lamp by chief guest Mr. Anil Saumitra of Spandan, Mr VP
Singh secretary ISWA, Dr VK Srivastav Chair ISCC 2014 and Dr Manoj K Patairiya,
Convener ISCC 2014. The inaugural Session was conducted by Mr. Tariq Badr from
ISWA. In his inaugural address Dr Patairiya who is ADG, Prasar Bharti
elaborated on the theme of congress. Science governance which is also termed as
soft science is nothing but the management of science. It prepares us for future
and saves us from science misconduct. Dr Patairiya pointed that it is a
pleasant coincidence that conference on ‘Science Governance’ is inaugurated on
the ‘Good Governance Day’. Mr Anil Saumitra from Spandan an NGO
emphasized on the role of science communication in development. Mr VP Singh
secretary ISWA elaborated on the role of ISWA and ISCC on science communication
movement in India. The inaugural session ended with a vote of thanks by Dr VK
Srivastav Chair ISCC 2014. Around 200 scientists, science writers,
academicians, science correspondents and students participated in the
congress.
Several topics were discussed and deliberations made during
the conference “ Communication Strategies for Science Governance ”, which was
the focal theme of ISCC-2014. The deliberations covered a wide range of
sub themes, such as Science for people, science for policy makers,
Institutional strategies, Policy issues, scientists as communicators, session
for young scholars et al.
The first scientific session of the conference was an exhibition
session chaired by Dr Lal Singh from NCERT, New Delhi. The delegates got an
opportunity to see the various issues of Indian journal of Science
communication. Dr. Chandra Mohan interacted on an environment friendly fruit
wash technology which is cost effective and increases the shelf life of fruits
and vegetables. The main highlight of the session was a demonstration on
Braille rendition of a popular science magazine in Hindi (Braille) for visually
impaired. The magazine edited by Dr Chandra Mohan is a first of its kind. The
outcome of the session was summarized by Dr RS Yadav from AIR who is an old
associate of ISCC.
The first scientific session on the theme ‘Science for people’
began with a presentation by Bharti Bhojak on the challenges
opportunities in science communication through regional languages with a
special emphasis on Hindi news papers and magazines. The presentation by VK
Muliya was an innovative method of communicating science through science
cartoons. Dr Rita malik highlighted the history of science communication down
the ages. Mr CB Devgun elaborated the efforts of SPACE an NGO on taking the
science to the people through Citizen Science concept. The summary of the
session was presented by rapporteur Dr Anshu Arora from Punjab University.
The evening session of the first day was chaired by Dr Prabha
Sharma a young researcher and science communicator. The session began with a
presentation on green technologies and green buildings which is a very
important concept and needs to be disseminated among common masses. The next
presentation was on MOOCS- a new frontier in science communication by Dr Umesh
Arya. The other presentation was on Role of Community media on health issues
with special emphasis on mental health by Dr Anukaran Dutta.
The second day of the 14th Indian Science Communication Congress
2014 began with a scientific session on the theme `Institutional Strategies’.
The first speaker Dr. N. Bajpai emphasized the importance and means of science
communication for humanities students. It was followed by a talk by Dr. S.P.
Mahendra, who presented a study on science content in the print media, based on
research conducted in Dausa district in Rajasthan. Ms. Kalpana Sangwan
commented on the changing role of teachers and need for developing scientific
attitude in students. Dr. Seemin Rubab talked about the INSPIRE science camps
and described the students’ response in three camps. She emphasized that these
camps offer a unique opportunity to practicing scientists for communicating
their area of research and work in simple language to higher secondary
students. The last talk of the session was by Ms. Nisha Sharma, an M. Sc.
student from Lucknow University, who presented a survey based study on the
scientific temper at a village in UP. Dr. Smita Mishra beautifully summarized
the talks presented in the session.
The second session on the theme `Policy Issue’ began with a talk
by Dr. Mahendra Kumar Pandey, on conceptualizing an effective science communication
policy, for development- sustainability with special emphasis in the Indian
context.
The second presentation was by Sri J. Ashok Kumar, who discussed
on the scope of attracting young talent to science. Mr. A.S.D Rajput threw
light on importance of science communication in good governance. A talk
highlighting the role of regional languages in science communication was given
by Dr. Gopal Singh. Sri Birat Raja Pradhan presented a study analyzing role of
science communication in health sectors. The last talk of the session was by Dr.
I. K. Mishra on e-governance and the impact of new media technologies on
society. The session was chaired by Dr. Ankuran Dutta and Dr. S. R. Dixit acted
as rapporteur.
The post lunch session on scientists as communicators was chaired
by Prof. B K. Kuthiala the vice-chancellor of MLC University of journalism. The
first talk was by Dr. Puneet Kumar from Lucknow University, who threw light on
the concept of weblog. He explained as to how a scientist can communicate in an
easy way by creating a blog and initiating a dialogue. Dr. A.S.D Rajput
discussed on the scope of interaction of scientists with the masses. The last
talk of the session was by Dr. Anamika Ray, who talked on the consequences of
open education resources in scientific research. The session ended with a
summary of talks by the rapporteur Dr. Seemin Rubab and in depth analysis by
the chair. One of the most important points emphasized by Prof Kuthiala is that
instead of talking about nature we should initiate dialogue with nature.
After tea, began the last session of the day which was
specially designated for the young scholars. The first talk was by Shalini
Singh on hygiene awareness among housemaids in Lucknow. The second talk was
from Kanishka Singh on role of science communication in control of river
pollution. The analysis was done for water pollution in Gomti river in Lucknow.
It was followed by a presentation by Alakh Sharma who presented a study of
causes behind poor response to gadgets using solar energy. The concluding talk
was from Ms. Aparna Singh on dissemination of scientific researches carried out
at Lucknow University. It was followed by a talk from Manisha Pandit on
comparative analysis of two English dailies the Hindu and Indian Express on
coverage of Mars Mission.
A puppet show on science communication was presented by
Gaurav Sharma, Khushboo Sharma, Ankit Awasthi, Anjali Sharma, Surya Teja and
Shahshank on `A Night of the Scorpion’. The session’s outcome was highlighted
by rapporteur Sri Anoop Chaturvedi. The session Chair, Prof KK Kapoor of
Jammu University emphasized the importance of the session as an incubator of
future science communicators.
The third day of the conference started with Poster session under
the chairmanship of Dr Gopal Singh. The main attraction of the third day’s
proceedings was the split group discussion under the chairmanship of Dr Subhan Khan retired scientist from
CSIR-NISTADS. All the participants were divided into five groups under the
guidance of group leaders to discuss ways and means to make science communication
widespread and effective in India. After brainstorming the group leaders
submitted their recommendations to the chair. The recommendations were
summarized by Dr AK Singh, the rappoerteur of the session.
Post lunch sessions of final day was panel discussion session
under the chair of Dr VK Srivastav of
ICMR.
Dr AS Yadav presented the ISCC 2014 report during post lunch
session. During valedictory session several science communicators like Mr Kesar
Singh of Water portal, Mr RD Rikahri
former editor Scientific Temper, Mr Sripal Sangwan, Senior Agriculturist, Mr
Khalil former editor ‘science ki Dunya’ urdu quarterly
were felicitated. Best papers from all the five sessions were also
awarded during valedictory. Dr PK Verma, chief guest opined that there should
be different levels of science communication. He also stressed the need to
conserve and popularize tribal wisdom. He talked about the science
communication initiatives like ‘Kaarigar Vigyan’ and Media Chaupal, senior
scientist science forum etc taken at Madhya Pradesh council of science and
Technology under his directorship. Dr MC Tiwari, head international boundaries,
MEA, guest of honour stressed on targeting children during science
communication efforts. Dr VK Srivastav in his presidential address deliberated
on the need for science communication in regional language in a multilingual
country like India. Dr Manoj Patairiya proposed vote of thanks to the
organizers and participants. Post tea session was restricted to ISWA members only
for AGM. The conference ended with the dinner and networking of various
stakeholders.
