By Rachel Kakraba
A four-day capacity-building coaching on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) has opened in Accra for chosen journalists and content material creators, with a name for stronger partnerships between researchers, journalists, and digital content material creators to enhance science communication in the nation.
The workshop, which is organized by the British High Commission in Accra in partnership with the Responsible AI Lab (RAIL) on the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Ministry of Environment, Science, and Technology, and the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, goals to bridge the hole between the scientific neighborhood and the media by encouraging collaboration that can make scientific info extra accessible and relatable to the general public.
Project overview
Presenting an outline of the programme, Johnson Masagotin Singir, Science and Innovation Officer on the British High Commission, talked about that the undertaking varieties half of a five-year UK-Ghana Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy which spans 2023–2028. He mentioned the media coaching, which commenced in 2024, has to this point skilled greater than seventy journalists nationwide who’re advancing the sphere.
“We identified the media as a very critical tool and key stakeholder when it comes to science and technology advancements. So, we started this to ensure that you are brought along when it comes to implementation. You are also exposed to the Ghanaian science and technology ecosystem in terms of how the policy ecosystem is, the innovation ecosystem, and the research ecosystem.”
He mentioned the coaching incorporates area journeys to present journalists direct engagement in laboratories each in Ghana and the UK.
“The training is designed to give you concepts around science and technology, the ethics, as well as also have some industry engagements where you can engage directly with researchers and scientists to have a feel for how the laboratory looks like and what goes in.”
He inspired beneficiary journalists and content material creators to take the coaching critically because it has so much to supply.
Effective science and innovation communication for improvement
Prof. Jerry John Kponyo, Science Director at RAIL-KNUST, Kumasi, careworn that efficient communication of science and innovation is vital to nationwide improvement. He famous that analysis findings would solely make a transformative impression on society when communicated successfully.
“Irrespective of how good your research is, if people cannot benefit from your research, if the man on the streets doesn’t have his life transformed by your research, then it is of no use. It is always important that we are able to effectively communicate the work that we have done. That is the reason why we consider a capacity-building workshop like this very, very important.”
Adding on, “Normally, the people who do the best research always shy away from the camera. It is always important that we build that capacity so that at the end of the day, we can effectively communicate our research.”
Prof. Kponyo known as for the use of indigenous languages in analysis findings and communication to make sure wider public understanding and profit.
“We should not just be communicating in English, but we also need to be able to break it down in our local languages so that the man on the street can understand that when I apply this man’s research to my cocoa farm, my productivity will increase by this measure.”
He famous that strengthening partnerships between the media and the analysis neighborhood is vital to enhancing public understanding of science and innovation and expressed optimism that the collaboration will likely be sustained.
Research communication failure
The Acting Administrator of the Ghana National Research Fund, Prof. Abigail Opoku, lamented what she described as a communication failure that has created gaps between analysis and its advantages to society.
“I think the gap between what science knows and what the public understands is not primarily a scientific failure; it is, to a significant measure, a communication failure.”
She added, “Research ends when its findings reach the people who need them. When it gets to our grandfathers, our farmers, those in the rural areas that need them the most to solve problems or the challenges that we have, it’s precisely where the media comes in strongly.”
Prof. Opoku expressed appreciation to the UK authorities for the dedication to enhancing STI reporting in Ghana, emphasizing that the platform could be leveraged for data switch.
Topics coated included efficient communication of scientific ideas, analysis and sources; ethics in STI reporting; ethics and innovation; and reporting on rising applied sciences for the general public good.