About this Research Topic
This Research Topic is being published on 13th October to coincide with the UN International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, whose focus in 2021 is on “international cooperation for developing countries to reduce their disaster risk and disaster losses.”
The ability of humankind to solve problems and adapt to changing circumstances is key to our long-term survival. These can be major events which may be localized, like earthquakes, or global, like climate change. Others may face daily occurrences of difficulty, where access to fresh water, food, medicine or even potentially lifesaving information can be hindered or prevented. How well communities can prepare for, endure, or recover after, times of difficulty or crisis can often be influenced by the information and perspectives that are used to define both the problem and the potential solution. Yet those defining the problem and formulating the solution are typically not those most acutely affected. These gaps disproportionately affect those already marginalized, compounding their disadvantage. For example, the COVID pandemic has highlighted how women, minoritized groups and those in developing countries bear a much higher burden as a consequence of reduced access to support and resources. Similarly, the impacts of climate change, such as bushfires and intense tropical storms, disproportionately affect those who already have less. Failing to recognize the impact of intersectionality on communities during times of challenge or crisis, or even just in day-to-day living, means that sometimes solutions serve only to widen pre-existing gaps.
Work already exists which recognizes the role and impact of intersectionality on individuals, yet there is a need to better understand how to involve those most affected in articulating the problem and developing potential solutions. In the face of local, national and global challenges, the potential contribution of science communication is increasingly pertinent. Engaging with diverse audiences, combating misinformation and encouraging wider participation in science are key facets of modern science communication practice. Within the last five years in particular, science communication has recognized the need for greater inclusion in its practice, yet clear articulation of what this means, for whom and why is not yet well established in the literature.
This Research Topic aims to explore how science communication contributes—or can contribute—to the definition of problems and the formulation of solutions in conjunction with those communities most affected. We welcome original research, review articles, perspectives and case studies which address (but are not limited to) the following themes within science communication related contexts:
• science as a ‘public good’
• co-production of knowledge—what works, what doesn’t, for whom and why
• impacts of inequalities based on gender, race, socio-economic status and the implications for problem solving
• disaster risk preparedness and resilience within and between countries and regions
• the influence of privilege, including economic interests, on problem identification, awareness, response and recovery
• the provision of scientific advice and risk communication—from community to political levels
• combating misinformation and miscommunication or effective science communication.
We particularly encourage submissions from the Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Academics from outside of these regions are welcome to submit and are encouraged to include co-authors from other regions or minoritized groups from within their own country.
The ability of humankind to solve problems and adapt to changing circumstances is key to our long-term survival. These can be major events which may be localized, like earthquakes, or global, like climate change. Others may face daily occurrences of difficulty, where access to fresh water, food, medicine or even potentially lifesaving information can be hindered or prevented. How well communities can prepare for, endure, or recover after, times of difficulty or crisis can often be influenced by the information and perspectives that are used to define both the problem and the potential solution. Yet those defining the problem and formulating the solution are typically not those most acutely affected. These gaps disproportionately affect those already marginalized, compounding their disadvantage. For example, the COVID pandemic has highlighted how women, minoritized groups and those in developing countries bear a much higher burden as a consequence of reduced access to support and resources. Similarly, the impacts of climate change, such as bushfires and intense tropical storms, disproportionately affect those who already have less. Failing to recognize the impact of intersectionality on communities during times of challenge or crisis, or even just in day-to-day living, means that sometimes solutions serve only to widen pre-existing gaps.
Work already exists which recognizes the role and impact of intersectionality on individuals, yet there is a need to better understand how to involve those most affected in articulating the problem and developing potential solutions. In the face of local, national and global challenges, the potential contribution of science communication is increasingly pertinent. Engaging with diverse audiences, combating misinformation and encouraging wider participation in science are key facets of modern science communication practice. Within the last five years in particular, science communication has recognized the need for greater inclusion in its practice, yet clear articulation of what this means, for whom and why is not yet well established in the literature.
This Research Topic aims to explore how science communication contributes—or can contribute—to the definition of problems and the formulation of solutions in conjunction with those communities most affected. We welcome original research, review articles, perspectives and case studies which address (but are not limited to) the following themes within science communication related contexts:
• science as a ‘public good’
• co-production of knowledge—what works, what doesn’t, for whom and why
• impacts of inequalities based on gender, race, socio-economic status and the implications for problem solving
• disaster risk preparedness and resilience within and between countries and regions
• the influence of privilege, including economic interests, on problem identification, awareness, response and recovery
• the provision of scientific advice and risk communication—from community to political levels
• combating misinformation and miscommunication or effective science communication.
We particularly encourage submissions from the Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Academics from outside of these regions are welcome to submit and are encouraged to include co-authors from other regions or minoritized groups from within their own country.
Keywords: science communication, disaster, diversity, equity, health, inclusion, intersectionality, public good, risk communication
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
