de

del

Eduardo del Buey
Photo: Reuters
La Jornada Maya

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

We live in an era of significant polarization where certain politicians and leaders deride academic and scientific expertise for a variety of reasons.

Some are ideological. Some are based on fear that an educated public with critical judgment will never vote for their ideas.

Others depend on donations from powerful interest groups such as the oil and gas sector, the coal sector or, in the United States, the pharmaceutical sector and the gun lobby. These donations amount to billions of dollars annually and, in most cases, politicians appear to be bought and paid for well before any voter has their say.

An example is the apparent trend to cut politically and financially sensitive scientific funding and to seemingly aim to prevent scientists from making the public aware of their findings. We have seen this in the United States under the current Republican administration as well as in Canada under the previous Conservative federal government and the current Conservative governments of Ontario and Alberta at a time when science is advocating the urgent need to address climate change and the world requires scientific expertise to deal with the rise of artificial intelligence and the need to address socio-economic inequities.

Climate change goes against the interests of the fossil fuel industry that is a key financial supporter of conservative political parties. And addressing socio-economic inequities attacks the wealthy who also support conservative causes where they most feel pain, their pocketbooks.

The current theme of denial that seems to guide the Republican Party in the United States and the Trump administration in particular underscores the fears of many that the facts of science and the truth of proper social research are falling by the wayside in the world’s most powerful nation.

One has only to look at statements by many prominent Republican leaders with respect to climate change and sexual harassment to understand this phenomenon. Moreover, the determination of Secretary for Education Betsy de Vos to reduce significantly funding for public education and to steer resources towards private schools risks serious damage to future generations in a country that paradoxically has some of the finest universities and colleges in the world. Shifting funding from public to private schools will deprive many of the opportunity to learn while only allowing the wealthy to pursue quality education.

Academia and the general public must fight hard to preserve education’s proper place in the world. Universities are central to this fight to address and reverse the current malaise that many have with “facts” and education.

Many universities focus their attention on science and mathematics to the detriment of the liberal arts while government cuts to cultural programs impact one of the essential vehicles through which to promote human development.

Some may argue that spending on educational and cultural products cannot be sustained in today’s economic climate. Yet, in many cases, the politicians who claim this as an argument are the same ones who advocate massive tax cuts that return billions of dollars to the top one per cent or who engage in massive subsidies to their primary funders.

While governments are to blame in many cases, universities and academics themselves must assume some responsibility.

Academics have always communicated well among themselves.

Learned journals and conferences have served to bring academics together over the years and, judging from the number of joint Nobel prizes presented in a variety of subjects over the past century, communication at this level appears to have been excellent.

However, the need for academics to learn how to communicate with the general public is now urgent.

Yet, most academics and universities have neither the experience nor expertise to connect effectively with the general public.

While the general public may have the depth of expertise of an academic, they are intelligent enough to understand how complex ideas can and do affect their everyday lives.

The issue is that academics who are highly specialized in one topic and are often untrained in or incapable of developing the simple messages and stories essential to connecting with and influencing mass audiences.

Sadly, universities seem to do little to correct this disability. They often neglect to create platforms that can reach the target audiences essential to promote their academic and research interests. Indeed, if the voters cannot relate to what academic institutions are focused on, they will not pressure politicians to fund programs that can create viable learning environments and that encourage the kinds of research necessary to sustain and grow the economy.

Last week, I wrote about how the Catholic Church is becoming irrelevant to many of its members by way of poorly crafted messaging.

Like the Catholic Church, universities are not immune from the rules of marketing and strategic communication.

They must connect with the general public effectively, and share their knowledge and experiences.

However, most universities are introverted and avoid using modern methods and technology in a strategic manner.

How many universities have created virtual think tanks where everyone can discuss developments and access knowledge in a way that relates to public needs?

How many universities encourage their professors to go out into society regularly and explain their work and their ideas in simple language that the general public can understand?

How many universities reach out to explain the valuable role that academia plays not only in educating but also in creating the policy frameworks within which all can participate in economic, social, and political development?

How many academics receive professional training in how to create the stories and messages that will motivate audiences; to present stories and statistics in a way that awakens people rather than puts them to sleep; and, to use social media as a viable tool to connect with general audiences?

Social media provides excellent platforms for getting academics out of the classroom and into the public domain. Indeed, some academics like the United Kingdom’s Sir Ken Robinson are doing it brilliantly on YouTube and through TED Talks. However, in order to make a stronger and more viable impact, such activities must become an integral part of each academic’s professional life.

In order to engage audiences, however, academics must make their presentations interesting and entertaining. The basic rules of strategic communications apply to academics as well as the rest of us and, absent interesting content, their reach will be limited and their followers few.

The Web provides a platform for universities to create virtual think tanks where ideas can be shared and conversations sustained with participants from all over the world, thus enriching dialogue and creating global communities.

Last month, a group of diplomatic and academic friends of mine from the Universidad del Valle de Mexico in Merida joined me in creating and producing a supplement in Yucatan’s La Jornada Maya, aimed at describing the phenomenon of migration and its effect on global society. This vital topic concerns the suffering of tens of millions around the world and the global impact of this phenomenon in language clearly understood by all.

Next, we plan to tackle the role of cultural diplomacy as governments seek to influence people and share its national values with foreign audiences.

Afterwards, we will explore how academia, the private sector, and governments can work together to create systems whereby universities prepare graduates in a context relevant to real world challenges incorporating the views of the private sector and government into what has traditionally been the exclusive domain of the academic world.

The fact that [i]La Jornada Maya[/i] is investing in this type of journalism underscores their view that communication between academics and readers is essential in today’s world of rapid change and complex issues.

By helping to present academic arguments in a relevant way we can strike a balance between the technical and scientific knowledge needed for sustained progress and the social and cultural competencies required to provide technology with context and content.

Indeed, without the liberal arts and cultural industries to provide the content, artificial intelligence is limited in its immediate ability to help move humanity ahead.

By creating viable mechanisms for ongoing dialogue between society and academia, universities can establish the necessary conditions for the general public to become their prime source of political support in time of budget cuts.

In closing, by making academic arguments more interesting and accessible, universities will succeed in maintaining their relevance obvious to all, and encourage academics to be grounded in social realities as they climb down from ivory towers.

At its root is the need for universities and colleges to train their faculty and students to act as communicators, and to emphasize the need to communicate effectively with all audiences.

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