Brazil faces setbacks in the public trust in science. When wildfires spread the Pantanal and Amazonia in 2020 and deforestation increased under the management of President Jair Bolsonaro, a large portion of the society discredited environmental scientists. At that time, we were finishing our Master's/Ph.D. The reality struck us – we rarely communicated with people outside academia and when we did, they did not believe us. We needed to reach people, but we felt lost. We did not find places to engage in science communication, did not have the training, and were overwhelmed with our research. We imagined our colleagues should feel the same. Then, we decided to create an organized space for us and colleagues to engage with the public.
The Biodiversidade em Foco (Biodiversity in Focus, in English) is a Portuguese language-based Twitter account that welcomes a different scientist every week to share science and their journey in science. Since its launch in May 2020, over 50 Brazilian scientists participated in the action and reached almost 8,000 followers. The core of the project is the content creation, which is up to the weekly curators that volunteer their time in the project. Threads encompassed several topics, including the ecological importance of cockroaches or actions to undertake when spotting a snake in your house. Some threads generated political debate, such as those on the roads to be constructed near protected areas and the federal government undermining environmental laws. Frequently, they generated dozens or hundreds of likes, shares, and comments, reaching up to 20 thousand likes. The space enables scientists to engage in SciComm parallelly to their day-to-day activities by reducing the labor to create and maintain personal platforms and still interact with a large community interested in biodiversity. Therefore it amplifies their voice, introduces some to a new way of SciComm, and connects people outside academia to scientists.
Financé par STEAM (December 2021)
Brazili inakabiliwa na mapungufu katika imani ya umma katika sayansi. Wakati moto wa msitu ulipozidi kuenea katika eneo la Pantanal na Amazon mnamo 2020, na ukataji miti ulipozidi kuongezeka chini ya uongozi wa Rais Jair Bolsonaro, sehemu kubwa ya jamii ilidharau wanasayansi wa mazingira. Wakati huo, tulikuwa tukimaliza shahada yetu ya uzamili. Ukweli ulituathiri <unk> tulizungumza mara chache na watu nje ya chuo kikuu na tulipofanya hivyo, hawakutuamini. Tulihitaji kuwafikia watu, lakini tulihisi tumepoteza. Hatukuweza kupata mahali pa kushiriki katika mawasiliano ya sayansi, hatukuwa na mafunzo, na tulivurugika na utafiti wetu. Tulidhani kwamba wenzetu wangehisi vivyo hivyo. Kisha, tuliamua kuunda nafasi iliyopangwa kwa ajili yetu na wenzetu kushirikiana na umma. Biodiversidade em Foco (Biodiversity in Focus) ni akaunti ya Twitter ya lugha ya Kireno ambayo inakaribisha mwanasayansi tofauti kila wiki kushiriki sayansi na safari yao katika sayansi. Tangu kuanzishwa kwake mnamo Mei 2020, zaidi ya wanasayansi 50 wa Brazil walishiriki katika hatua hiyo na kufikia wafuasi karibu 8,000. Msingi wa mradi ni uundaji wa maudhui, ambayo ni juu ya wasimamizi wa kila wiki ambao hujitolea wakati wao katika mradi huo. Mfululizo wa makala ulijumuisha mada kadhaa, ikiwa ni pamoja na umuhimu wa ikolojia wa vipepeo au hatua za kuchukua wakati wa kuona nyoka nyumbani kwako. Baadhi ya mada hizo zilizua mjadala wa kisiasa, kama vile zile kuhusu barabara zinazojengwa karibu na maeneo yaliyohifadhiwa na serikali ya shirikisho kudhalilisha sheria za mazingira. Mara nyingi, walipata maelfu au mamia ya likes, shares, na maoni, kufikia hadi likes elfu 20. Nafasi hiyo inawawezesha wanasayansi kushiriki katika SciComme sambamba na shughuli zao za kila siku kwa kupunguza kazi ya kuunda na kudumisha majukwaa ya kibinafsi na bado kuingiliana na jamii kubwa inayopendezwa na uumbaji. Kwa hiyo inaongeza sauti yao, inaanzisha baadhi ya njia mpya ya SciComm, na inaunganisha watu nje ya chuo kikuu kwa wanasayansi. FYI: STEAM (Mwezi wa Desemba 2021)