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Aleem |
In the developing world, science and technology, two powerful tools for development, remain underdeveloped. With the lack of public knowledge of science and technology in the developing world, it is difficult for people to use them effectively. Science media have the potential to become the missing link between scientists, the public, and local industries. There are, however, several people emerging who refuse to let science media become "the weakest link."
Aleem Ahmed is the chief editor and publisher of the monthly Global Science, the only popular science magazine in Pakistan. He is also a freelance writer in several other science magazines and websites. After receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Karachi University, he has been involved in the field of science media with a focus on the developing world.
With more than 1,500 edited and written articles, 2,000 published news items, and contributions to several books, Ahmed has become a respected speaker and trainer in many different seminars and workshops around the world as he strives to promote science awareness in the developing world.
Ahmed joined IslamOnline.net (IOL) to answer questions about the current state of science awareness in the developing world and the steps needed to improve it.
Question: In your opinion, what is the current state of science awareness in the developing world?
Answer: To be honest, Muslim countries and their respective societies are greatly ignoring science journalism or the public communication of science at large. If we compare the state of science journalism in the Muslim world with the West, we find that we are not spending even 0.1 percent of our higher education budget on science journalism.
Recently there has been improvement, but we still need much more improvement, especially at policy-making level.
Question: What do you think is holding us back from catching up with the developed world in terms of science awareness?
Answer: It's only our mindset, because we think that science awareness is either "children's stuff" or it is merely a waste of our time and money. I can assure you that a well-told story on science can be as interesting and involving as a romantic fiction can be. It is our mindset that makes us ready for time- and money-wasting activities while ignoring science.
Question: Developing countries now have many pioneering scientists. So what do you think is the reason for this lack of science media? And what is the role of scientists to promote science in the media?
Answer: Being a good scientist is very different from being a good science journalist. That is, without learning the art and craft of the public communication of science, it's impossible to become an effective science communicator.
For scientists to become good science journalists they must first improve their communication skills. Then they must study the subject of their interest; that is, the subject they want to specialize in as science journalists. Finally, they should try to present their work to different media organizations that have different styles of presentation. That will give them flexibility and depth.
Ironically, our scientists are only able to write research papers, reports, synopses, and so on. For them, the public communication of science isn't that important. Instead, they think the public communication of science is a waste of their expertise and precious time.
The other reason for this lack of science media is our institutions of journalism, where public communication of science is greatly neglected as a subject of studies.
In the face of such a scenario, how can we expect good science media from developing countries?
Question: So what would your advice be to someone who wants to get involved in scientific media?
Answer: It's very easy. If you can present science in the style of a bedtime story, using the easiest possible vocabulary and interesting anecdotes, you can very easily do it. In fact, the art of storytelling lies at the heart of any good science story aimed at the public.
Science awareness requires the tool of personal interest, coupled with the art and craft of public communication. With these tools, the public understanding of science in developing countries — like our own — can be revolutionized.
There are also some very simple rules of thumb to follow:
- Avoid [using scientific] jargon as much as you can.
- If you can't, try to explain these [terminologies] in plain, simple, and easy language that is comprehensible to everyone.
- Try to dramatize your story [when writing about] complicated disciplines of science. It ensures the sustained attention of your target readers in what you are telling them.
Question: Tell us more about the magazine Global Science. How difficult was it to start up the magazine and how do you maintain it? Are there other popular science magazines in the Indian subcontinent?
Answer: To my knowledge, Down to Earth from India is the only internationally reputed magazine focusing on the environment and related aspects of science in its contents.
It's not easy to launch and sustain any sort of magazine for a long time. We faced enormous difficulties to found Global Science, but we managed to tackle them in very different ways. Perhaps no magazine of popular science from Pakistan before had ever exploited such strategies.
As I often say, I am not merely a publisher or proprietor of Global Science. Instead, I am the editor, writer, proof reader, layout designer, finance manager, press manager, circulation manager, marketing manager, and sometimes sweeper of Global Science as well!
In fact, running and sustaining Global Science requires a lot of sacrifice. And by sacrificing ourselves, we have been able to manage Global Science till now.
Question: Do you consider Global Science to be a success in Pakistan? How do you know your audience is interested in science?
Answer: Well, you won't believe it, but the circulation of the monthly, Global Science, is far more than hundreds of showbiz and political magazines in Pakistan!
The monthly circulation of Global Science reaches more than 70,000 issues throughout Pakistan, and during the next 24 months we have a target to achieve a readership of 100,000 within Pakistan, in sha' Allah.
We know we are successful because for the past eight years and seven months, Global Science has survived solely on its circulation, that is, the number of copies sold in the market. Our reliance on advertisement revenues has been, and still is, virtually non-existent.
If a popular science magazine is displayed besides showbiz/ political/ general publications on the newsstand, it is clear that people really want to read about science.
Question: Do the tastes of science magazine readers change over time?
Answer: Readers' choices always keep changing. For example, in the '50s and '60s, articles regarding the space race were more popular than others. Then in the '70s, electronics turned out to be a topic of public interest thanks to Amali Science launched in January 1970.
From the early '80s to the late '90s, defense and war-related issues got more public applaud.
Then from 1998 till 9/11, IT and computer science [were] the most readable subjects of science. Now, as public preference in Pakistan is once again changing, defense and IT — together — are among the topmost priorities of science readers in Pakistan.
Question: What is the importance of increasing science awareness among the public?
Answer: This is a typical question, often asked by the policy-makers and decision-akers of developing countries.
Public awareness of science is the single most important factor that can revolutionize everything, from education to the real understanding of democracy in these countries. In other words, public understanding of science is the real savior of the socioeconomics of developing countries.
The political leadership of developing countries almost always underscore (and sometime undermine) the importance of the public awareness and understanding of science for their limited and localized benefits.
Question: What advice would you give someone who wants to start something like Global Science?
Answer: To launch a newspaper or periodical (that is, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly or a quarterly publication) they must first have written permission (called declaration in Pakistan) from their government. This tends to be the first most difficult and annoying part of the whole story.
Then they will need enough money to run this publication for at least one year (assuming that they are going to launch a monthly publication).
Before preparing even the very first issue of their publication, they must decide a very clear editorial policy: what will be published and what will not.
Though I can't tell you here everything in detail, but always remember one simple rule: The first issue of any publication is usually the worst one as well. A good magazine always evolves with time.
As they will move forward through their publication, they will, by themselves, figure out lots of things that no one can tell them.
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