Nepote A – PCST Network

Author: Ana Nepote – UNAM, Mexico

One of the greatest challenges for the 21st century is the transition towards more sustainable models of life and human-nature relationships. The 2030 United Nations Agenda for sustainable development raises a series of commitments that involve, governments, universities, and diverse social sectors. Among the 17 objectives included in the agenda, there is one related to sustainable development, production and responsible consumption (SDG12). Latin American countries have been centers of origin and improvement of crops such as corn, cocoa, beans, pumpkins, and medicinal plants. The local knowledge, experiences and community management of the land are practices providing sound and alternative referents towards sustainable transformation. In this proposal, two temporary exhibitions developed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) related to this topic are analyzed. The UNAM, one of the largest in Latin America, has 27 university museums. Between November 2018 and April 2019 the Science Museum, Universum, hosted a temporary exhibition about sustainable food production and practices that favor biodiversity conservation. A second temporary exhibition was displayed at the Museo de San Idelfonso between October 2019 and February 2020. This exhibition was related to the Art of Eating Insects in Mexico as a practice of culinary and natural heritage. Both museums are located in Mexico City, a megalopolis with great challenges in sustainability. Based on a qualitative analysis of the narratives and approaches of each exhibition, the discourse related to the issues of the production and consumption of sustainable foods, the relevance of knowing the origin of food and the role that consumers have in the transformation towards more sustainable lifestyles is discussed. These cases allowed me to analyze the role such exhibitions have for environmental communication, the need for interdisciplinary and multicultural perspectives in this topic and the potential contribution museums have as spaces for planetary citizenship.

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

Presentation type: Individual paper
Theme: Time

Author: Ana Nepote – UNAM, Mexico

Co-authors:
Dominique Brossard – University of Wisconsin – Madison
Luisa Massarani – Museu da Vida, Fiocruz and SciDev.Net
Sandra Murriello – Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro
Elaine Reynoso – UNAM

This session is organized by RedPOP, the Latin American Network for Science Communication in Latin America and the Caribbean, as part of a partnership with the PCST Network.

Latin America and the Caribbean has started having initiatives in the academic field of Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) of at least 30 years in countries such as Mexico and Brazil. Lately, the field has been consolidating and taking shape, in diverse biological areas, while facing different challenges, such as political and economic instability, unstable democracies and cultural complexity.

In the last five years, there has been a major effort to systematize the vast experience that exists in PCST in the region. As result of an effort led by RedPOP in collaboration with organizations in the region, there is a greater knowledge of available training programs in science communication. Additionally, a diagnosis of the current situation of the practical activities in science communication has been performed, which constitutes the first record of the academic production in PCST in the region and map of the related public policies implemented and in some cases, forgotten.

In this roundtable, members of the PCST scientific committee who work in Latin American institutions and REDPOP members will participate: Luisa Massarani, Ana Claudia Nepote, Luz Helena Oviedo, Elaine Reynoso and Sandra Murriello; will present the scope and challenges that the public communication of science faces in the region. In a conversation moderated by Dominique Brossard, they will talk about the status of PCST in the region and some of the challenges that need to be addressed. This roundtable will present a “snapshot” of the multiplicity of experiences in the region while presenting some possibilities for opening up opportunities for senior and young Latin American science communicators to engage with other regions of the world.

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

Presentation type: Roundtable discussion
Theme: Science
Area of interest: Comparing science communication across cultures

Sustainability on Display: The opportunity to transform our visions about nature through science exhibitions

The soul of Latin-American science communication

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