Going Online in Pandemic Time: A DivulgaMicro Workshop Experience ^†

Abstract

DivulgaMicro is a Brazilian Science Communication and Outreach project run by three young female scientists. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we promoted the first virtual edition of the DivulgaMicro Workshop.

Promoting Science Literacy and Awareness across the Globe: the Role of Scientists as Science Ambassadors

“…Through numerous workshops, they have also trained hundreds of early-career scientists in best practices for science communication with general audiences. Feedback on the DivulgaMicro program has been very positive, with participants praising the interactivity and usefulness of content presented in workshops ( 41 , 42 ). While DivulgaMicro does not necessarily interact with lay audiences directly, it has been successful in giving more people in the region skill sets that will allow them to engage with locals more effectively.…”

“…For instance, in Latin America, social media presence increased during this time, as a series of accounts was created that worked to promote science literacy in this region ( Table 1 ). As another example, the in-person DivulgaMicro workshop, developed by a former Young Ambassador to Brazil, was adapted to be given remotely ( 41 , 42 ). Originally, the DivulgaMicro Workshop was 1 day long and was carried out at universities and at scientific conferences across Brazil.…”

Lessons learned from organizing and teaching virtual phylogenetics workshops

“…In early 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic required instructors to cancel in-person workshops and innovate ways to deliver training materials to practitioners (Lowenthal et al 2020;Prasad et al 2020;Andrade de Oliveira et al 2021). The majority of workshop participants are early career researchers, many of whom attend workshops to deliberately meet planned professional goals such as attaining skills to complete dissertation research or seeking out postdoctoral research opportunities.…”