Science Communication and Science Advice Requires Specific Tools: How Can We Help Early Career Researchers

Science communication is at the heart of public outreach, science advice and science diplomacy, which researchers of all ages must engage in. We are mostly familiar with dissemination in scientific circuits, be it congresses, symposia, workshops or papers, however we are less equipped and familiar with communicating our science to the public, policymakers or funders. Communication of scientific methods, results, innovations and such is not only important to inform the general public of new advances, but also to provide policymakers with Science is a very specialized set of knowledge, data, idea sor proposals; however it can also be a marketable commodity in the form of science fiction books or movies, popular science blogs or news articles, documentaries and TV shows. It is estimated that more than half of science podcasts were produced or hosted by scientists, and over 75 % of them were aimed at general public (MacKenzie, 2019). However as of today there are no audience engagement metrics or no authority to peer review the information provided on the podcasts, making the general public vulnerable to misrepresented information by non-scientists, which could well explain the rise of pseudoscience and decline in trust in science. This was unfortunately widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic, where conflicting information was presented to the general public, often interfering with and slowing down public health interventions, and is still a challenging issue in dealing with advocating on how to combat the impending effects of climate change on the planet. It is therefore the duty of scientists and young academics to ensure that science outreach or science advice is mediated through credible science communicators in an informative and well-represented, peer-reviewed manner, both for the general public and policy-makers.In this light, we believe it to be critical to provide early career researchers with appropriate tools and guidance to present scientific concepts and developments to both general audience and to audience with specialized background, including policy makers, while maintaining scientific integrity and restoring trust in science. In this talk, we will present some best practices, offer different effective science communication tools, and discuss how different cultural gaps can be bridged via young researchers.