Let's do science communication

Germany is looking for a final repository for highly radioactive waste. This is a task for society as a whole, requiring a broad participation process and, above all, a scientific basis. The process is still in its early stages, but as the possible siting regions are narrowed down, public attention will increase significantly in the coming years. This workshop explores the role of science communication within the search process.

Above all, the complex and scientific process must be transparent, comprehensible and understandable: science communication is a key success factor in communicating scientific subject matter. The search for a repository involves questions of geology as well as questions of scientific planning criteria and the legal basis for participation. Also relevant are questions of ecological, economic and social regional development at the potential site. For the support and participation in this interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary process, it is indispensable to formulate the contents and positions in a generally understandable way.

In this workshop we will discuss the complex role of science communication in the repository search process. How can scientific content from different disciplines be communicated? Which formats are suitable for communicating technical content in transdisciplinary discourses? What needs to be communicated in the context of the search for a final repository? What content is essential for understanding the process? The workshop addresses the participants as communicating scientists with practical experience or specific questions and invites the participants to deal with these questions in a playful way: the basis for the workshop is a game plan that depicts and explains the phases and the course of the process and presents the most important information of the scientific process.

In the format of a world café, the participants will experience to which extent science communication plays a role as an essential factor in the procedure. There will be two scenarios to play: on the one hand, the participants will be asked to deal with the question of which forms and contents are required for the procedure to be conducted successfully. On the other hand, it is about dealing with the risks and challenges of misguided science communication. For both scenarios, the task is to identify essential formats and content as well as points in time. The participants will be asked to formulate concrete examples.

The player will go through each step in the search for a repository and discuss their influence as the communicating scientist on the success of the search. How can people be influenced by communication of risk topics, and therefore how can this influence people's attitude towards the process?

In addition to personal experience, scientific questions regarding necessary information during the phases of the search will be generated in that format. How can science or science communication support the different steps of the search?