A science conference isn’t what usually springs to mind when I think of media sources, but this conference has indeed had its media high points. There was a great film festival. There is also a marvelous gallery art show (here’s a link to one of the artists featured there).
The proceedings of the conference are available online (apologies, host is no longer there). I’d like to point out one session I chaired, 4F “Media in science outreach: Strategies and a new direction“, that brought media, artists, and scientists into conversation. Papers presented in that session included, John F. Williams: “Has the Salish Sea Disappeared?“, Robi Smith: “When art meets science, good things happen”, David Gordon: “High-impact communications on a low-ball budget“, Ron Steven: “The art of connection” (huge), Eric Solomon: “Helping the public make sense of Salish Sea science: The role of the media in creating context.” Artists Robi Smith and Ron Steven were both part of the gallery show.
Many Voices, One Sea
The 2011 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference was held October 25 to 27 at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. This outstanding event brought together a diverse group of government officials, community leaders, First Nations and tribal members, environmental managers, scientists and academics to learn from each other about the state and threats to our shared ecosystem. Over 950 delegates attended.