Spain: Evolution and professionalisation of science communication

Abstract

We review the respective roles played by mass media, museums, universities, professional associations and administrations (national, autonomous and local). Although Spanish scientific communication has experienced growth and recession phases since the 1970s, it has never stopped professionalising. Good examples are the offer of specific university studies on science communication (mainly master's and postgraduates courses); the growth of professional associations in number of partners and in their activities; the creation of collaborative networks (such as units of scientific culture, museums and science centres, etc.); the emergence of research groups dedicated to the analysis of this field; and the consolidation of major professional events. 2. Science and SC in Spain before the 1970s The need to recount great happenings is something inherent in the human condition and even before printing had been invented, the public communication of news or events was already taking place. Epidemics, plagues, weather forecasts, environmental disasters, wars and their technological implementations, and quarrels between wise men (or among wise men, mages and monks) are examples of issues that have been present in the 'public arena' throughout history. Nevertheless, SC was transformed in Spain with the printing press and technological advances, as well as scientific revolutions and the institutionalisation of science. Scientists themselves (engineers, doctors, astronomers, naturalists etc.) for centuries acted as disseminators in Spain (López-Ocón Cabrera, 2000). The amassing of artefacts and the 'culture of the curio' (Bolaños, 2008, p. 44), common to all countries with a colonial past or that commissioned great scientific expeditions, formed the basis for some of the first science museums in Spain. Examples include the country's National Museum of Natural Sciences, founded in 1771 on the basis of the collections of Pedro Franco Dávila or, towards the turn of the century, today's Museum of Natural Sciences in Barcelona, based on the collections of Francesc Martorell. Science news in the press is as old as the press itself. SC historians have found records of science news dating back to the 17th century in France and England. Unfortunately, research into the history of SC in Spain is so scant that we have nothing on record regarding these periods, but there is every reason to think that Spain also published this kind of article in the same period. This is particularly so given the fact that the country was at its cultural zenith (the so-called 'Golden Age' of Spanish hegemony in Europe, spanning the 16th and 17th centuries), with writers such as Cervantes and painters like Velázquez.

How climate scientists and communication professionals view public engagement with science: Perspectives, practices and constraints

“…Whitmer et al, 2010). Despite the advancements presented above in this article (e.g., Revuelta et al, 2020) Portuguese and Spanish universities are not yet making the most of the potential inherent to public engagement, as recently pointed out by Llorente et al (2021). This raises important questions for research and practice.…”