Learning from The Conversation at the Fifth International Public Relations Workshop

Date of activity: December 21, 2016

The Fifth International Public Relations Workshop was held on the Hongo Campus on December 21, 2016. With Ms. Reema Rattan from The Conversation Global as the guest speaker, the workshop provided participants a fascinating look at approaches for effective research outreach. The audience eagerly listened to Ms. Rattan's talk, which was followed by lively discussion and many questions from the participants as they tried to learn ways for communicating research results to a wider global audience.

The Conversation, similar to our UTokyo Research website, is an online media outlet that commissions and sources its content from the academic and research community, and communicates research results to the public in an easy-to-understand way. It was founded in Australia in 2011 and the news site/platform is run by an independent, non-profit organization. All content and services are offered free of charge under the Creative Commons license, and its "Republish this article" function also allows readers to republish articles easily. Ms. Rattan is a commissioning editor for The Conversation Global, the global version, and works closely with researchers and experts in the field to commission and edit their articles. Her talk was full of practical advice and suggestions gathered from years of experience. For example, The Conversation makes extra efforts to ensure the accuracy of its content through cross-checking; it asks contributors to provide evidence and documents that support their statements and to supply links to sources; and it has guidelines for carrying out a civil exchange of opinions to minimize a negative experience (hate speech, etc.) for readers. Backed by meticulous editorial work, The Conversation maintains high standards and has grown into an influential outlet reaching a monthly audience of 3.3 million visitors, and 35 million readers through republication.

Some participants voiced concern over having to write articles in English as The Conversation’s content is offered in that language. Ms. Rattan encouraged them by saying, "What is important is not the English but the idea. We want researchers from UTokyo to communicate what are possible only for researchers in Japan and useful for people all over the world. The important thing is to do what you can!" Outreach activities benefit not only the public, who can learn about research results, but also researchers themselves, who may raise their profile and draw attention to their work, thereby helping them win grants and increase the number of citations for their research. We encourage researchers to become involved in outreach activities using effective platforms such as The Conversation.

Related link: The Conversation Global