Researchers and technical staff of the DOST-FNRI, who are also members of the Institute’s Writers Pool, attended an insightful science communication and writing seminar on May 23, 2021. The DOST-FNRI Writers Pool Writeshop dubbed as “Toeing the Line: Tips on Writing Online” aimed to further enhance the skills of DOST-FNRI’s Writers Pool Members on effective writing on science and technology information suitable and appropriate for digital platforms and social media.
The resource speaker, Mr. Timothy James M. Dimacali, is a Filipino science fiction writer and science journalist. He is the first Filipino and first Fulbright scholar to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Graduate Program in Science Writing. He was also one of the awardees of the Gawad Scriba Award for Science Communicators in 2013. Currently, he is the chief editor of the NAST’s Foresight 2050 project and an Information Officer III at DOST-SEI.
Participants of the writeshop learned the definition of science communication and the need to communicate science and technology information by maximizing the power of online media platforms. The DOST-FNRI Writers Pool members also learned the gaps between and among scientists and science information officers and the Filipino public. Mr. Dimacali shared tips on boosting the scientific interest of audiences. The last part of the writeshop was dedicated to reviewing some of the DOST-FNRI’s published and unpublished releases and artcards for media and social media. In this part, participants gained additional insights and tips to make write-ups and information dissemination collaterals more suitable for online audiences.
As an offshoot, the DOST-FNRI’s Writers Pool members are expected to develop write-ups (media releases, artcards, infobits) on the research results and S&T activities that will be presented in the 47th FNRI Seminar Series on July 5-9, 2021 by applying the concepts and tips shared by Mr. Dimacali.
The writeshop was attended by 33 members of the Writers Pool representing all technical divisions of the DOST-FNRI, including contractual staff who also contribute in the preparation of some of the Institute’s promotion and marketing collaterals.
