Tunisia and Spain exchange experiences to promote scientific dissemination

Within the framework of the twinning financed by the European Union providing institutional support to improve the FIIAPP-managed Tunisian research and innovation system, a mission has been organised to work on the tools for the dissemination of scientific culture, aimed at promoting collaboration between the agents in charge of scientific dissemination.  

Scientific dissemination in these agents that include museums, universities and research centres is a fundamental element of their activities, since they need to make the results of their actions, which are often publicly funded, reach the widest public possible. These agents also transmit learning and increase the knowledge available to the population, bringing it closer to people and making it a participant in the knowledge society.  

The aim is for scientific dissemination to go beyond the traditional framework of official spaces and become a training tool for society, asserting its importance in the media. For this to happen, it is essential to use the tools that facilitate new technologies, undertaking activities in coordination with local, regional and national stakeholders. 

The project has been running for a long time in association with the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to develop a communication strategy, holding multiple conferences that focus on the communication tools currently available to research centres, the dialogue required to support research and the promotion of scientific communication.  

The mission that took place in December dealt with topics including science in the media, techniques for writing scientific content, relations with the press, communication in times of crisis and featured the prominent presence of the Tunisian Minister of Higher Education and Research and the Spanish Ambassador to Tunisia who, based on his long experience, made a presentation on the cost of non-communication in public administration.  

The recent fourth mission focused on communication and cooperation. The mission’s work centred on intermediate structures such as science museums and planetariums, among others, aimed at bringing science closer to society.  It consisted of five remote daily sessions that showed the example of Spain. During the conference, there was a productive debate among the participants, who analysed the potential of Tunisian institutions such as the Cité de Sciences à Tunis and other museums, universities and research centres in the country. The mission contributed to improving the communication capacity of the scientific culture of Tunisian institutions at a national and international level. 

Some of the successful experiences presented by the speakers included the Granada Science Park as an example of a unifying centre and promoter of the dissemination of scientific culture, a case study of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)and universities in Andalusia through the case study of the University of Granada and the work of the Fundación Descubre. 

Through the meetings, closer collaboration between the scientific dissemination institutions of both countries became a far greater possibility, with the possibility of adding the Tunisian institutions to the European network of science museums. Collaboration between these stakeholders is expected to serve as a role model to promote the knowledge society in both countries.