Popularization of the research activities of the Animal Biology Department of Unicamp's Institute of Biology

• Grant number: 18/06848-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Journalism
• Start date: August 01, 2018
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Journalism and Publishing
• Principal Investigator: Mathias Mistretta Pires
• Grantee: Bruno de Sousa Moraes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Coordenadoria de Centros e Núcleos Disciplinares (COCEN). Núcleo de Desenvolvimento da Criatividade (NUDECRI), Brazil

Abstract

Science popularization in developing countries like Brazil faces the consequences of deficient educational systems, because the inherent challenges of communicating complex scientific topics are extrapolated by society's poor understanding of science and its methods. This difficulty of dealing with a deficient educational system is exactly one of the main factors that give urgency to science popularization. This urgency of informing a society mostly exposed to a failed education is even more critic in the age of internet and social media, where carefully prepared information coexists with misinformation, false truths and fake news.This journalistic research proposal has the objectives of discussing important principles of science communication, covering both general information and more specific aspects concerning the popularization of topics in Biological Sciences. The aim is to propose activities and goals to conduct a journalistic and popular coverage of the activities promoted by Campinas' State University's the Department of Animal Biology. The project aims to develop mechanisms to communicate the science done by the labs of the Department. The proposal involves the production of short videos aimed at young spectators around the age of starting an undergraduate course, in order to illustrate the diverse possible paths to future scientists and to inform those interested in the study of zoology, ecology and parasitology. The proposal also includes the production of content for the Departmen's social medias, as well as publications in science popularization vehicles, especially the ComCiência Magazine, produced by Unicamp's Labjor. The theoretical backbone of the project is based on knowledge acquired by the proposing candidate during the attendance of classes offered by Labjor's Science Journalism Specialization Course.