In this blog series we will be featuring some of our award winners and highly commended recipients from the Faculty’s ‘Outstanding Contribution to PPIE’ awards. Showcasing the inspirational and outstanding commitment to PPIE that has made a positive difference to our community and highlighting the amazing events, activities, people and groups from across the Faculty. Our first blog will feature Live with Scientists who won the Newcomer category for the 2021 awards.

LIVE with Scientists (LwS), is a non-profit initiative launched by a group of scientists from The University of Manchester. Devoted to providing equal access to science for everyone they embrace equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to engage and communicate science. They specifically reach out to people from underrepresented backgrounds, non-scientific communities, special needs families and younger generations.

Launched in 2020 they have now:

• established a website
• released six hands-on activities for families and primary school children
• written 19 blog posts
• produced 75 bite-sized take-home scientific messages and 20 videos

LwS addresses the critical need for EDI in science communication by utilising various methods of delivering content to engage a maximum diversity of groups often overlooked by other platforms. Each themed month, they deliver content on a scientific topic most relevant to the public with a blog, a hands-on activity, and by livestreaming and archiving talks & Q+As on their website, Facebook, and YouTube channels.  The content is subtitled and archived to ensure that everyone regardless of their time, space, circumstances have access to the available resources.

Most importantly, resources are tailored to be accessible to neurodiverse groups, often inadequately catered for by other science communications platforms. To increase engagement from neurodivergent individuals, LwS are collaborating with autism@manchester to ensure that their material is autism-friendly.

Ayse Latif, one of the founders of the initiative said, “Through my experience of communicating research to the public, I came to realise that some of these activities were not accessible to underrepresented communities.  Our aim is to expand the variety of material we use for engagement, expand our networks and actively use of our social media accounts to make science more inclusive for all.”

From livestreaming and archiving talks, podcasts and interviews, to publishing blog articles and Q+A pieces, LwS aims to ensure that the latest scientific research is accessible to all so that no one misses out on the joys of science!

Find out more: Follow Live with Scientists on website, Facebook, and YouTube channels to keep up to date with their great work.

To find out more about PPIE: watch our short film, sign up to the monthly Public Engagement Digest, visit the PPIE blog, or contact srbmh@manchester.ac.uk.

To read more about other PPIE Award winners visit here

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