Magnifying the Role of Science Communication

Hi. It’s Onille once again. @onilleflores

Do you remember a couple of years ago when the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how information and the Internet will play a central role in our lives were hot topics in conferences, symposia, and meetings? Little did we know that the looming pandemic was going to be a battleground in which information and the Internet will serve as crucial ammunitions that will help determine the outcome of this pandemic war.

Although we have seen a glimpse of how science/evidence-based decision-making will help future-proof our society, we still need to fortify and magnify the role of Science Communication in the current paradigm. It is not enough that we do exemplary science. We need to communicate science by reaching out and making sure that what we do as scientists, the public can understand. And we can make use of all platforms available to achieve this. In the same manner, it is also paramount for science communication to serve as a bastion of truth-telling. We need to ensure that what is out there is truthful.

I urge our scientists to include science communication in their scientific and research endeavors. It should not be just a “by the way” in a casual conversation. Science Communication should be a conversation itself.