Global risks like climate change, infectious diseases, and food security are science-based, highly complex, and often controversial issues that require collective response. Yet today’s highly fragmented and politicised media landscape empowers sceptics, sidetracks legitimate debate and impedes solutions. This panel will explore how to communicate science and risk publicly, and how to overcome complexity to mobilise people for change.
Professor, Faculty of Sociology, University of Trento
Massimiano Bucchi teaches Science and Technology in Society, University of Trento, Italy. His publications include Science in Society (London and New York, Routledge, 2004), Handbook of Public Communication of Science (with B. Trench, Routledge, 2008), Beyond Technocracy (New York, Springer, 2009) and essays in journals such as Nature and Science. He has served as advisor and evaluator for several international institutions,including the NSF, the Royal Society, and the European Commission.
Mechai Viravaidya’s work centered on reducing births (family planning), reducing deaths (fighting the spread of HIV), reducing dependency (establishing social enterprises), eradicating poverty (community empowerment) and reducing ignorance (reinventing Thai education).
He was also appointed to key positions as Thailand’s Cabinet spokesperson, Deputy Minister of Industry, Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister, and Chairman of several of Thailand’s largest government-owned enterprises.
Mechai was presented with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service (1994), recognized as one of Asiaweek’s “20 Great Asians” (1995), the United Nations Population Award (1997), one of TIME Magazine’s “Asian Heroes” (2006), the Bill and Melinda Gates Award for Global Health (2007), the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2008). He was honoured with the Prince Mahidol Award for Public Health (2009). More recently, the Global Humanitarian Award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute (2022)
Dr. Cullen is CEO of Climate Central—a non-profit science journalism organisation .Before joining Climate Central, where she reports on climate and energy issues for programmes like PBS NewsHour, Dr. Cullen served as The Weather Channel’ sfirst on-air climate expert and helped create Forecast Earth, a weekly television serie sfocused on issues related to climate change and the environment. Dr. Cullen is the author of The Weatherof the Future, published by Harper Collins and is a Visiting Lecturer at Princeton University.
Alok Jha is a science and environment correspondent at The Guardian newspaper, based in London. In addition to writing news and comment, he presents the Science Weekly podcast and looks after The Guardian’s science website. He graduated with a physics degree from Imperial College London. He is the author of How to Live Forever (Quercus).
