Science and Technology Communication: Experience from France

The French government has spent 2.3 per cent of GDP on research and development (R&D) since 1995. Like many other EU countries, the State sector accounts for a big share of R&D spending. France held up to 4.5 per cent of patents worldwide in 2005 and patents per capita were close to the average of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In a bid to turn science into a major culture and inspire the public passion for science, France has widely deployed various communications to catch the attention and increase engagement in science and technology of all social sectors.

Success of public connectivity
Science and technology communications sectors in France are heavily invested and most are non-profit and funded by the Government. Communication subjects are clearly classified, especially administrators who have direct influences on decision-making.

Under the perspective of macroeconomic management, Cle'lia Morali from the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research (France), said France annually spends around EUR250 million on science and technology communications. In addition, its localities have their own budget for this activity, estimated at EUR4-5 million a year.

This activity is particularly focused on integrating science with social culture. With a view that only when the society regards science as a part of culture which comes naturally as daily social activities, then science really comes to life. The Science and Technology Festival in France is annually held in early October. On this occasion, meetings, exchanges, seminars and demonstrations concerning technology are carried out on a national scale. Each unit of science and technology study and training has its own typical topics and activities. The Science and Technology Festival 2016 brought together young astronauts who will fly into space, including Russian astronauts. About 350 students joined with astronauts and famous masters of ceremony. This activity was posted on websites dedicated to the culture of science and technology communications, Cle’lia Morali said.

In localities where the Science and Technology Festival takes place, residents are encouraged to engage in arts and cultural activities. French regions have centres of culture, industry, science and technology for hosting seminars and exhibitions. They invite experts and famous artists to jointly organise scientific and artistic programmes to communicate with the public in the most understandable and intimate way. Many classes are also held for people to join and share innovative ideas. A lot of young entrepreneurs and business start-ups were shaped through such training classes and programmes.

Science and technology communications in France are not only carried out by media agencies but also performed by all regions, state or private agencies in various different forms. Universities and organisations of science and technology all have communications bodies to deploy this activity.

The Science and Technology City and Discovery Palace administered by the Ministry of Economy - Culture and the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research have a total investment budget of EUR150 million, of which 80 per cent comes from State funds and 20 per cent come from their 1,100-man workforce. These are two major exhibition venues for scientific and technological achievements of France.

She added that a draft strategy on the development of science and technology communications is being currently developed and will be submitted to the National Assembly by the end of December 2016. The strategy consists of seven main contents: Each unit or locality has prioritised communications.

Such contents include focused communications on climate change and climate change adaptation solutions; how to inspire women to engage in scientific and technological research since women currently account for only 20 per cent; how to apply digital media in science and technology communications to inspire different audiences to engage in this activity; how to develop industrial culture as well as entrepreneurial spirit and innovations in many other sectors; how to broadly mobilise the masses with exchanges and seminars; how to work with media units to transmit uninteresting science and technology information to be more interesting and understandable, especially to leaders and policymakers; and how to effectively convey science and technology information via mass media.

Practices in Vietnam
Dr. Nguyen Xuan Toan, Director of the Centre for Science and Technology Communication under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said science and technology is considered a top national policy and an important driving force to accelerate national industrialisation and modernisation. Science and technology communications are thus well focused and invested substantially. Science and technology communications are playing an increasingly important role in bringing information and the results of scientific and technological research to life.

This is considered a bridge to fill the gap between the scientific community and the society and disseminate scientific and technological development policies, research results, scientific and technological applications and raise public awareness of science and technology.

France’s experience in science and technology communications has provided suggestions for Vietnam in this effect with many new approaches, particularly the urgent construction of the National Strategy on Science and Technology Communication in line with the country’s typical conditions. Along with that, many community-based scientific programmes have been launched to attract public attention and bring science closer to the people, especially younger generations.

Optimistically, this activity has started to be implemented in Vietnam. In recent years, this activity has been concerned and deployed and considered an important part of scientific and technological development policies. Promoting science and technology communication development is one of six key measures to execute the science and technology development strategy in 2011-2020. Many policies on science and technology communication development have also been introduced.

Without doubt, science and technology communication has been disseminated from central to local levels and become an effective tool to convey science and technology information to the public, and widely introduce science and technology to production and business. Currently, more than 700 press agencies are operational in Vietnam, including many newspapers, websites, television and radio broadcasting stations with specialised columns, categories and programmes on science and technology in addition to other contents such as culture, education and health. Apart from its existing media agencies, The Ministry of Science and Technology has kept close coordination with other media agencies to organise events, conferences, workshops and seminars to bring science and technology information to the public.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has deployed several activities such as hosting the Science and Technology Communication Week (starting from 2013), training in science and technology communication for communication personnel at its subordinates, organising experience sharing experiences and proposing solutions to experts, journalists and news editors; and hosting STEM Festival - a useful and amusing playground for students. These will be the groundwork for Vietnam to build activities and measures to implement science and technology communication to bring science and technology closer life, arouse the public passion for science and technology, especially among younger generations.

Hanh Hien