1 / 2023 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS 9
Communication in times of multiple crisis
Joint Academy Day with Austrian Academy of Sciences
FROM THE DISCUSSION
Christoph M . Schmidt ML : “ We do not communicate the limits of our knowledge sufficiently , do not emphasise possible sources of error strongly enough and do not ask ourselves firmly enough what we can see and what remains closed to us . Communication must follow the principle of being as simple as possible , and as complex as necessary , but keeping this up is challenging . It is hard to express yourself simply and still be precise .”
The Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Leopoldina invited discussions at the Joint Academy in Vienna / Austria .
Images : Hinterramskogler | ÖAW , Graphics : ÖAW
The debate about the role of science in forming democratic opinion and intention will continue after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided . Scientific institutions in the public eye , such as the National Acad emies of Austria and Germany , need to help shape this discussion . The Joint Academy Day on the topic “ Science Communication in Times of Multiple Crisis ” in Vienna / Austria on 1 February set a clear tone .
Science should inform policy as comprehensively as necessary , but legitimise it as little as possible “ – one of the key statements of the “ Vienna Theses on science-based advice to politics and society ”, which the Austrian Academy of Sciences ( ÖAW ) and Leopoldina had jointly prepared for the Joint Academy Day as a basis for discussion .
In their talks , the two Academy Presidents , Heinz Faßmann and Gerald Haug ML , clearly explained the separation between advising and decision-making in their advisory activities . Otherwise , the Academies , which are independent of individual political interests , would jeopardise trust in science , which is still high . This trust is becoming increasingly important in a society looking for factbased guidance but is also in part sceptical about science .
How science should make specific use of its space for communicating with society was the main question of the panel discussion at the Joint Academy Day , in which Leopoldina Members Michael Hallek ML and Christoph M . Schmidt ML took part . Differentiation was a keyword which came up frequently : The Academies would also be well advised to develop specific formats for the target groups to which they have the best access and to identify particularly relevant content .
■ ART
Vienna theses on science-based advice to politics and society
Ricarda Winkelmann : “ Knowledge needs to be accessible to everyone , not just the publications but also the data , methods and scientific approaches behind them . We also need to communicate and classify the limits of our knowledge . And we need to rethink time – the climate crisis in particular demands longerterm thinking . The collective action of the next few years has the potential to change the face of the Earth for centuries or even millennia .”
Michael Hallek ML : “ As scientists , we need to communicate more , not less . And we need to communicate in such a way that people understand us and find us credible . This is trivial but it has often failed – during the COVID-19 pandemic , too . We should also try not to contribute to the ‘ false balance ’ ourselves . By that I mean only talking about things that we , as scientists , really know something about .”