No. 113/2021

25 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 113/2021 What do they expect from one another? How can trust- based cooperation succeed? And what constitutes good sci- ence communication? Learning from one another is the focus of the Communication Lab for Exchange between Research and Media that the Humboldt Foundation launched in 2020, funded by the Federal Foreign Office. Opportunities like this are a feature of the current boom in science communication in Germany. Admittedly, the story began 25 years ago when academics, businesspeo- ple and politicians collaborated on the first such initia- tive. They adopted a memorandum on Public Understand- ing of Sciences and Humanities that sought to increase and professionalise science communication and, above all, emphasise the idea of a dialogue. A great deal has been achieved since then. But even in Germany, there is still a lack of opportunities to acquire broadly-based communi- cation qualifications in academia as well as to find coherent answers to the challenges posed by social media and the media transformation that has decimated editorial offices and massively weakened science journalism. So, the time was ripe for new ideas and initiatives. Apart from countless conferences and articles, they include a ten-point plan by the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, of which the Humboldt Foundation is a mem- ber, and #FactoryWisskomm, a think-tank established by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In 2021, this effectively brought together everybody who is any- body in the field in Germany, from science journalists TARGET GROUPS THAT ARE HARD TO REACH Talk about tin foil hat! Headdress of someone participating in a Querdenker demonstration in Berlin in May 2021 › Photo: Getty Images /Sean Gallup