I thought I should introduce myself to psci-com, and tell you about three
current projects that might be of interest.  My apologies in advance for
this rather long posting to the network.

My name is Lloyd Anderson, and I took over the job of The British Council's
Director of Science from June Rollinson about two years ago.

In March last year we commissioned River Path Associates to carry out a
scoping study on the issue of 'science and society'. The key points to
emerge in their report were:

a) Science is newsworthy.
b) Trust is at an all-time low, as controversial scientific issues force
themselves into the public agenda.
c) Some organisations have adopted a defensive posture, complaining about
poor public understanding of science and media scare mongering.  When a
crisis hits they 'keep their heads down' and only react if pushed.
d) Other organisations see science's profile as an opportunity and not a
threat.  New ways are being developed to engage the public in dialogue about
scientific issues, and the key words are transparency and accountability.
e) These organisations are trying to rebuild trust.  They hope that when the
next science scare comes, the public will turn to them for advice and
leadership, rather than turn on them with acrimony and recriminations.
f) Science and technology is driving society into an unknown, but exciting
future and public involvement in this process is essential to democracy.

The study's findings were reported to the House of Lords inquiry on 'Science
and Society' last summer, both as written and verbal evidence, and the
Council has since been examining ways of taking River Path's work forward.

Two projects have emerged from the scoping study.  The first is a series of
in-country public talks/debates, tied together as a series of BBC World
Service broadcasts and an e-conference.  The countries include Japan, Korea,
Russia, Slovenia, Germany, France, Netherlands and Brazil.  Each public talk
will deal with a separate but linked aspect of 'science in society', as
identified in the scoping study: the key issues being risk, public
consultation, consumer protection, regulation, ethical responsibility and
perceptions of science. We are now tracking down speakers for these issues.

The Council plans to hold this series of public talks overseas in
September-October 2000, in advance of the second project - an international
seminar on 'Democratic Science' - to be held in London in February 2001.
The e-conference and radio broadcasts will run throughout the series of
talks, linking them and helping to set the agenda for the international
seminar in 2001.  The e-conference will take the form of a subscribed email
discussion group similar to that run by the House of Lords on women in
science.

I should point out that it is not the primary role of the British Council to
drive UK policy forward in the area of science communication.  The Council's
aim is, internationally, to put the spotlight on UK science using its twin
themes of 'excellence in international science' and 'understanding of
science in society'.  The two projects fit our public diplomacy objectives
while also supporting the step change in science communication that is
required if society is to see scientific progress as a transparent and
accountable process, allaying their fears.  And, looking at the other side,
there is already evidence that research investment is leaving the UK out of
a fear of running into controversy.

The third project is an international workshop in London, from 3-5 July
2000, on science communication issues and priorities.  This is a follow-up
event to the UNESCO World Conference on Science (WCS) in Budapest, June
1999.  The workshop is sponsored by the Department for International
Development and Office of Science & Technology, in conjunction with UNESCO,
and is being organised by the British Council.

The workshop participants have been personally invited by Sir Robert May,
who, together with Lord Sainsbury and Mr George Foulkes, will be attending
part of the workshop.  At the World Conference in Budapest, Mr Foulkes, as
the Minister for International Development, gave an undertaking to take
forward and expand upon the recommendations of the WCS regarding science
communication.  In his speech to the Conference, the Minister said:

"Finally, science should be fully integrated into society.  Confidence and
trust are based on transparency, accountability and access to information as
Robert May and John Durant have already said.  We need to raise the level of
public debate nationally and internationally so that decisions are made in
the full knowledge of how different countries and interest groups will be
affected by particular innovations.  We welcome and support references by
many other speakers and in the Declaration, to the need to do more to
improve science communication."   

The purpose of the London workshop is thus, in the light of the WCS
declaration, to look specifically at:
1. Good practice in science communication;
2. The gaps in knowledge or action;
3. Where the challenges and opportunities for international collaboration
exist;
4. What might be the priorities for action, and who should be the players.

In addition to the principal objective of the conference - identifying the
priorities for future action - the meeting will also try to determine the
main, possibly different, science communication issues in each country and
region and consider the opportunities, especially for training, in
developing countries.  It will be an international forum, with participants
- both science communicators and policy makers - from China, the European
Commission, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Latin America, South
Africa, the UK and the USA coming together to share best practice and
discuss the key issues.

Regards,  Lloyd.


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