Science Journalism and the Ocean Decade: A Proposal to Foster Ocean Literacy Through the Dissemination of Brazilian Research to the Media

• Grant number: 25/06445-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Journalism
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Journalism and Publishing
• Principal Investigator: Germana Fernandes Barata
• Grantee: Débora Gallas Steigleder
• Host Institution: Núcleo de Desenvolvimento da Criatividade (NUDECRI). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Casa De Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz, Brazil

Abstract

This project proposes the dissemination of scientific research on ocean-related topics, aligning with the UN's Ocean Decade (2021-2030) initiative to raise societal awareness about the importance of marine conservation for planetary sustainability. The project will be conducted within the collaborative network Ressoa Oceano, linked to the Laboratory for Advanced Journalism Studies (Labjor) at UNICAMP, through a partnership with Agência Bori, a science journalism platform specializing in communicating impactful Brazilian research to the media. Using Bori's established selection criteria - including social impact and diversity (regional, gender, and cross-disciplinary) - the initiative will identify groundbreaking studies and transform them into journalistic texts with accessible language to facilitate science communication for journalists. The overarching goals are to expand public discourse, strengthen science-journalism collaboration, and influence public policies by disseminating crucial information for ocean and marine ecosystem protection.