Oral Presentation AFSS/NZFSS Joint Conference 2019

Why sometimes you have to be the story (#145)

Andy Lowes 1 , Gillian Whiting 1 , Adam Sluggett 1 , Janet Pritchard 1
  1. Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Stories are a powerful way to engage people and communicate information in a memorable way. Communicating the benefits of the work we do through stories merges emotion and meaning, to make the facts and figures we present much more personal, meaningful and lasting in their impact.

It is not often we hear how scientific programs are working from the perspectives of those on the ground, yet human stories are often a great hook to get our scientific messages heard.

We have been collecting stories for Living Murray icon site managers as a way to reach a broader group of people and highlight why we are delivering water for the environment.

This project produced a series of short videos that capture why site managers do what they do. The Living Murray icon site managers are a dedicated, passionate and hardworking group of managers and scientists with years of knowledge and experience to share.

Eighteen years on from the start of the Living Murray Initiative in 2002, there are a lot of compelling stories to tell. This talk will explore why science communication can be supported by a human angle and why sometimes we have to be bold and put ourselves in front of the camera.