The story of SKA in the media: Science Communication and Engagement in a multinational project.

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The story of SKA in the media: Science Communication and Engagement in a multinational project.

Author: Anton Binneman – Square Kilometre Array, South Africa

Co-authors:

  • Mathieu Isidro – SKAO, United Kingdom

The SKA is a global effort to build the world’s largest Radio Telescope and arguably the world’s largest scientific infrastructure project, this project has captured the imaginations of the global population and encouraged the involvement of people from every continent. It is also one of the projects that has been documented in the media extensively, the Project has been featured on the front page of the New York times, National Geographic, Popular mechanics and numerous other international publications and broadcasts. This paper will be a collaboration by different SKA Partner countries. The paper will outline broad trends in the media and it will tell the story of the project in the media starting in the 1990’s. The paper will tell the story of how journalists viewed the project and how different media platforms was used to communicate Science and facts about the project. Furthermore, the paper will briefly show how journalists were engaged at different phases of the project for different reasons.. Finally, the paper will highlight some best practices and strategies by the different partner countries in communicating science, through the media.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Visual presentation
Theme: Time

SKA South Africa: Moving from stakeholder management to stakeholder engagement – a case study

Author: Anton Binneman – Square Kilometre Array, South Africa

Co-authors:

  • Mathieu Isidro – SKA

The establishment of the SKA project holds both positive and negative consequences for a vast array of stakeholders. This paper reflects on how stakeholder management and communication evolved since the inception of the South African part of the project to shed light on the complexities and challenges of science communication and stakeholder management and engagement. The discussions on the stakeholder communication that evolved during the four phases identified, demonstrates how the shift from stakeholder management to stakeholder engagement occurred and what the implications of these shifts were.

The evolution of stakeholder communication is discussed in four phases; reflecting on the objectives, challenges and accomplishments in each phase. The discussion of each phase aims to demonstrate how the integration of knowledge accumulated in each phase and was used to develop a strategic and sustainable stakeholder engagement framework, as well as to map the way forward for science communication of this kind.

By way of an introduction, the presentation commences with an overview of Radio Astronomy in South Africa, covering its history and brief discussions on the instruments that have been established in South Africa. This brief discussion provides a perspective on the enormity of the SKA project from multidisciplinary scientific and engineering disciplines integrated with strategic communication and sustainable stakeholder engagement.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Insight talk
Theme: Time

Square Kilometre Array’s Meerkat struggles with anti-science advocacy groups

Author: Anton Binneman – Square Kilometre Array, South Africa

South Africa and Australia has been selected to host the Square Kilometre Array Project (SKA). Currently, South Africa is completing MeerKAT, a 64-dish array that will be integrated into SKA Phase One. Once complete, Phase One will consist of 197 dishes that will enable revolutionary astronomical observations.

However, as with most advances there are likely to be societal impact. Within the local communities in South Africa, there is a definitive socio-economic impact evident that could be perceived as both positive and negative. The documented negative impact is centred on communication, specifically radio communication near the core and along the spiral arms; as well as the estimated loss of 130 000 hectares of agricultural land. On the other hand, positive impact includes direct investment by government and other institutions into affected towns, development of local businesses and educational institutions, and various other indirect benefits. Since commencement, the project has spent more than R250 000 000 in the Karoo area.

The focus of this paper will be on public perception. It will briefly highlight South African media content related to the SKA project, which will include a succinct analysis of associated social media. This will establish a base for a more in depth analysis of the qualitative content of two particular Facebook pages that are administrated by advocacy groups that are explicitly opposed to the SKA project. The analysis will include coding of the qualitative content of these two publically accessible Facebook pages. Then, common misconceptions and critique on the project will be clustered, which will then be compared to the facts as published by SKA South Africa. The paper will then conclude with a conceptual communications strategy that could address misconceptions that are propagated by anti-science alliance groups, using SKA and the development of MeerKAT as an example.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Individual paper
Theme: Society
Area of interest: Building a theoretical basis for science communication

Square Kilometre Array South Africa understanding San cosmology

Author: Anton Binneman – Square Kilometre Array, South Africa

SKA South Africa has signed an MOU with the South African San Council. This council represents the first peoples of South Africa and one of the oldest cultures in the world. The San peoples early ancestors walked the land where the SKA will be hosted but was driven from the land by white settlers in the 1800’s. In this talk the MOU with the San council, the San peoples understanding of cosmology and their support of the SKA project will be profiled. This talk will highlight comparisons between the Indigenous knowledge systems of the San Peoples with modern Astronomy and some of the lessons learnt through the process implementing activities with the San Peoples. The presentation will make use of art, stories and artefacts sourced form local San tribes.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Show, tell and talk
Theme: Stories
Area of interest: Building a theoretical basis for science communication

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