Communicators participate in the International Seminar on Scientific Journalism

SANTO DOMINGO.- With the objective of training journalists interested in practicing scientific journalism and updating their knowledge, the Institutional Communication Department and the Research Directorate of Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) held the first International Seminar on Scientific Journalism "How to communicate about science?".

The Seminar, which was held on 21 and 22 days last November, had the participation of 17 journalists from different media that cover topics mainly environmental, health and technology, and work in the areas of Communication of related state institutions to the subject of scientific research.

The training was inaugurated by the Rector Rolando M. Guzmán and the Vice-Rector for Research and Linkage, Indhira De Jesús and had as main speaker Dr. Flávia Goulart Rosa Mota García, Associate Professor and Director of the Editorial of the Federal University of Bahia ( IR) of Brazil, and responsible for the Institutional Repository of that academy.

During the two days of the seminar, Mota García shared the topics "Scientific communication: restrictions of free access"; "University and dissemination of scientific production"; "Open Access Movement in Brazil" and "Application of the institutional repository in practice".

Also participating as speakers were Paula Leighton, regional consultant and correspondent in SciDev.Net and the Science section in the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, with the videoconference "From idea to publication"; the Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Plácido Gómez, closed the first day with the exhibition "¿Estatus de la ciencia en República Dominicana?".

The participants had the opportunity to visit the laboratories of Nanotechnology and Molecular Modeling, in which they listened to exhibitions of the physicists Noel Upia and Vladimir Pérez, as well as the engineer in thermophysics Inna Samson, who is in charge of the Solar Fridge project.

The biologist and in charge of the laboratory of Remote Perception, Yolanda León, led the dialogue on the journalist-researcher relationship, which also included the professors Angélica Rodríguez of Industrial Design and Edwin Sánchez, in charge of the Mechatronics Laboratory.

At the end of the exhibitions, journalist Rosa Alcántara of Hoy newspaper thanked INTEC on behalf of all the participants for organizing the seminar, which she said will positively impact her journalistic practice.

Other attendees were Luis García, communications director of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources; Julio Fermán of the magazine Mercado; Yaniris López del Listín Diario; Henry Hidalgo of Diario Libre; Alfonso Torres of 7 Days; Elaine Feliz from Rexpuestas magazine and Graciela Valdez from IBBI.

In addition, Francisca Ramírez of the Network of Environmental Journalists; Ramón Lora Rosado from the newspaper El Día; Odalis Mejía of Hoy newspaper; César Montero of the National Council of Agricultural and Forestry Research (CONIAF); the investigative journalist Gabriela Read and Nicodeliz Méndez from the Center for Agricultural and Forestry Development (CEDAF), among others.

Some objectives of the Seminar are to form a critical mass of journalists interested in practicing scientific journalism and bringing journalists to university sources of research and production of knowledge to ensure that citizens receive higher quality information on science.