WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
Participants were invited to learn and experiment with creative approaches from Australian Science Engagers and Communicators. The workshop provided a space to share individual practices, discuss challenges and gaps in the industry and envision new cross-cultural collaborations.
The workshop included a science poetry activity with Professor Sam Illingworth and a presentation of Dr Ken Dutton Regester’s portable Cancer Art Gallery!
We were also delighted to welcome Professor Joan Leach, Director of the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science in Canberra. Professor Joan Leach has been an advocate for Science Communication since the birth of the discipline, serving across a wide number of networks and world leading universities. During her keynote, she will put Australia’s pathway in Science Communication into a global perspective and explore its societal resonance and impact.
‘What if Scientists ruled the world?’—a unique Forum Theater experiment
On 8 May 2021, a group of science communicators and actors performed ‘What if Scientists Ruled the World’ in the Australian Academy of Science’s heritage listed Shine Dome.
During a play following the principles of Forum Theatre, the audience attending in-person, online and another group of 5 Science Engagers on-screen were invited to influence the unfolding scenario onstage, under the direction of Ali Clinch. With ingenious creativity and pungent humour, characters and the public worked together to explore different facets of the story, revealing the complexity of scientific truth and controversy in our modern societies.
You can watch the replay below!
This performance was co-produced by Falling Walls Engage with the Australian Academy of Science, and directed by Rebus Theater in Canberra. The event was created with the participation of Science Engagers during an activity guided by theatre director Ali Clinch.
