Communicating Biodiversity Webinar #1: Self and Audience Awareness

Webinar 1: Self and Audience Awareness
Speaker: Alona Bärtschi (Connect, PSI)
Date: 11 November 2025
This webinar was part of the workshop "Communicating Biodiversity Effectively Across Boundaries" that took place in November 2025.

Effective communication is central to biodiversity research and its societal impact. WSL researchers frequently interact with stakeholders such as city planners, land managers, farmers, policymakers, and NGOs. Yet, communication barriers (e.g., scientific jargon, mismatched expectations, conflict-prone phrasing) often hinder constructive dialogue. To overcome these barriers, the workshop focuses on three core topics that are particularly relevant and potentially challenging for communicating biodiversity: Self and Audience Awareness, Bridging the Gap between Scientists and Non-Scientists, and Conflict Management.​ These principles reflect recurring challenges in biodiversity communication. “Self and Audience Awareness” helps scientists adapt their message by reflecting on their role as communicators and the needs of diverse audiences, while “Bridging the Gap” addresses mistrust and misunderstandings that often emerge between scientific and non-scientific experts. Finally, “Conflict Management” is crucial because biodiversity issues frequently involve competing land uses, political tensions, and conflicting values, making dialogue especially sensitive.

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The Eawag-WSL Biodiversity Center is a strategic, interdisciplinary initiative to promote, further develop, and consolidate research and outreach in biodiversity science at WSL and Eawag.
https://biodiversitycenter.wsl.ch/en/