Young people ask about Covid-19 and its communication

How has the Covid-19 pandemic been communicated to young people? How has this group been represented in the media? What can we do to improve communication about the pandemic and about science in general towards this section of society? 

These are some of the issues that have been addressed by the project Youth, Communication and COVID-19, coordinated by Pompeu Fabra University’s Studies Center on Science, Communication and Society (CCS-UPF) and which has received  funding from the “Premis BCN 2020” scholarships from the Barcelona city hall. The objective of the project is to encourage young people (18-25 years old) in Barcelona to participate in the communication of Covid-19 and in the communication and outreach of science in general.

Four discussion gatherings were organized which involved the participation of young people from different areas of Barcelona who represent different realities and perspectives. Two of the meetings included UPF students and the other two included young people belonging to the Romani community. During these meetings a series of questions were raised to promote a relaxed conversation about the communication of Covid-19 and science matters directed towards young people. The prevalent doubts, concerns and proposals that were raised by the participants in these meetings were compiled and analyzed. A survey was developed from this information and distributed among young people. The goal was to study which were the most widespread and common questions.

Lastly, using the data obtained from the discussions and survey, an online event is being organized in which experts in different scientific and communication fields related to the Covid-19 can answer the young group’s questions. In addition to this, a list of recommendations in regards to the youth-directed communication of Covid-19, health, environment and science matters will be developed from the discussions and survey. These recommendations will be part of the open license collection Communicating is Easy from the CCS-UPF. 

We leave you with a small preview in which you can see Dr. Ignacio López-Goñi, a microbiologist at the University of Navarra and renowned scientific communicator, answer some of the questions raised by the young people throughout this project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omzM7c63FXY


Este blog cuenta con la colaboración de la Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología – Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación