Conclusion: Advancing Globally Inclusive Science Communication – Bridging the North–South Divide through Decolonisation, Equity, and Mutual Learning

Abstract

The chapters in this book have shown that science communication and public engagement practices, initiatives and research, take place in highly different contexts, scenarios and settings around the globe. Yet, much of the discourse, practice and research in the field, is still predominantly predicated in the Global North. In order to overcome these ‘skewed’ realities, we need a broader framework for science communication that will transcend the Global North-South inequality divide, and thus, both explain the challenges and opportunities in different contexts, and proffer transformative solutions globally. This concluding chapter outlines the critical role that the decolonisation of science communication can play in bridging this Global North-South divide and spur mutual learning, ‘respectful listening’ and equitable collaborative engagements across this divide. It argues that the decolonisation framework should provide answers to profound questions, such as, how do we re-calibrate the discourses, exemplars, practices and narratives that infuse this globalised science communication arena, in order to engender a level playing field for science communication in the Global South? The chapter concludes with elaborating that science communication and public engagement discourses, paradigms and platforms that enable the field to have a ‘multi-lensed’ understanding of the operations of the craft, in the diverse contexts and scenarios across the globe, are important to building inclusive, engaged, open and dynamic societies. The way forward lies in science communication adopting a transformative ‘wide-angled’ lens in order to better reflect the diverse global populations, contexts and realities, in both the Global South and the Global North regions of the world.