#TodoComunica | Communicating Science, A Perpetual Challenge – El Sol de Toluca

The most recent Public Perception of Science and Technology Survey (ENPECYT), conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in 2017, indicates that eight out of 10 people in Mexico were interested in scientific and technological developments, with a greater focus on topics related to medicine or science. health, followed by behavioral sciences or humanities.

According to that study, between 2015 and 2017, interest in scientific topics declined; However, due to the situation that has caused the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, the desire and need to know about issues related to progress in the field of health has increased.

In this sense, 3M conducted the State of Science in the World (SOSI, for its English acronym) study, which explored people’s perception of science, defining how we feel and think about the field, in order to assess its impact on a global level.

In the case of Mexico — considered with countries such as Germany, Canada, China, Colombia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, among others — 91 percent of people trust science to recover our lives and continue the recovery process, because it was determined that 59% of Mexican women and men want to travel again to meet family and friends, and 58% want hugs and shake hands again. Science has brought us hope that things will get better soon.

In addition, the study is encouraging, because it indicates that 74% of the population in Mexico consider young people more committed to scientific issues, while in the world this perception is 69%; In other words, in our country we consider that young people value these areas of knowledge more. The results even indicate that in the face of the epidemic, those who devote themselves to medical sciences are inspiring more young people to decide to study scientific disciplines.

In addition, it turns out that 90 percent of those who live in Mexico are more aware of the importance of the ecological environment, and we believe that science must address priorities such as: the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, ocean pollution, access to renewable energy and air quality.

For this reason, it will be important for the news media to provide more and better coverage of scientific topics and for universities to train professionals in communicating science and making knowledge accessible to the population.

Knowledge

There is concern in Mexico’s president’s first circle about the direction the country is taking.

Professor at the College of Political and Social Sciences in the United Arab Emirates.

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