Communication Working Group
Chairs
- Michael Scholl | based in Switzerland (Northern Europe Region member)
Introduction
The Communication Working Group was initiated to establish a coherent and effective communication strategy for the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG), not only to its members but to a broader audience also. Science communication is part of a scientist’s everyday life – scientists must give presentations at conferences and workshops, write articles in peer-reviewed journals, produce proposals, communicate with various audiences, and educate others. But this communication was, and still, unfortunately, is often limited to peer-to-peer. In the past few decades, communication adapted to a broader and often non-scientific audience has grown through varied new channels – television, press, social networks, websites, etc. – and has indeed become a condition for most funding opportunities.
The SSG vision is ‘a world where sharks, rays and chimaeras are valued and managed sustainably’. Our mission is ‘to secure the conservation, management and, where necessary, the recovery of the world’s sharks, rays, and chimaeras by mobilizing technical and scientific expertise to provide the knowledge that enables action.’ SSG members are primarily scientists, and their mission is to ‘provide the knowledge that enables action’. This action is directly linked to policy, political decisions, and public engagement; hence, understanding their scientific communication plays a crucial role in applying these actions by non-scientific professionals.
The tasks of this Working Group will be to:
- Promote the SSG brand recognition, update SSG Brand Guidelines and develop a Communication Strategy;
- Update, maintain, and expand the website and improve the SSG’s reach on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Vimeo) by creating and developing content;
- Coordinate the design and publication of the quarterly Shark News magazine with contributions from members;
- Showcase the SSG conservation efforts and achievements and promote related scientific publications;
- Design communication guidelines and templates for species profiles, policy briefs, reports, and information documents;
- Identify and secure funding specific for the Communication Working Group, as well as in conjunction with global grant opportunities for the SSG;
- Develop the communication team with interested members, external contributors and partners while mentoring early-career professionals interested in communication; and
- Develop partnerships with non-profit organizations, non-governmental organization and philanthropies to share and combine targeted communication efforts that encompass our vision, mission and objectives.
