RETHINK

Science communication is at a crucial stage within its development due to the emergence of digital communication platforms which not only present new opportunities, but also lead to new challenges. The RETHINK project provides a new angle at viewing science communication which recognises inequalities and barriers towards an open and reflective relationships between science and society. RETHINK brings significant and long-term changes into science communication in order to maximise opportunities and overcome doubts about comprehensive digitisation process, including support to society in order to address key challenges across Europe and the world.

Project Description

The RETHINK project presents a way towards further development of science communication by encouraging changes based on evidences gained from practical experience and the application of appropriate policies, in order to foster further research and innovation. To achieve this, RETHINK will provide a 360° perspective to science communication by mapping current activities across Europe, including those taking place in the digital realm. This will result in the introduction of new training modalities for all participants in science communication, including bloggers and people involved in social networking. Various contents will be available on the internet with a view on how to change current practices in science communication in order to remove obstacles to open communication and attract new, young audiences across Europe. Also, guidelines will be prepared in order to create an environment that encourages open research and innovation, and allow free access to all of the content and data collected during the research process. The aim is to encourage wider discussion and a better understanding of science communication and its content.

The Role of CPN

The primary task of the Center is to collect data related to the research of science communication (eco)systems, determining the roles and activities of science communicators and conducting experiments to find out to which extent are certain approaches effective in different contexts. Research will be also conducted to determine which stimulative structures could be involved in communication with society in order to identify obstacles and map the possibilities for the acceptance, development and the testing of strategies for the development of new and improved practices. Among other things, models for determining the quality criteria in science communication will be developed and tested, along with the development and implementation of training materials. One of the final results will be the launch and running of the Rethinkerspace.