Crastina is a platform for the exchange of experience, knowledge and inspiration regarding both scientific peer-to-peer communication and science dissemination

What? An international network of (mostly young) people who love to communicate science & tech.
Why? We think science needs to be communicated with more passion and professionalism.
Where? On our website with interviews & resources + on social media + on Skype and IRL.
Who? A content group (the Crew), a think tank (the Academy), + lots of friends & contacts.
When? Right now – as a matter of fact, we’ve just geared up.

Conversation with a Canva Community Outreach Specialist

Canva – a web tool for creating graphics – has a very interesting social media strategy, where they put special Community Outreach Specialists to work.

Opinion & Reflection

Natural history research—a supply and demand industry? (James O’Hanlon, March 2015)

We have a product: popular science communication. And we have a market: the public. Can there be a business model that caters for this demand? James O’Henlon, Australian zoologist, raises the question whether exploratory research should be driven by a supply and demand mechanism.

Interviews

The-best-poster-ever-made interview: James O’Hanlon, Macquarie University

I was quite delighted when I stumbled upon the research poster below the other week. For years, I have searched for the Holy Grail of research posters, and suddenly it was there, designed by the Australian zoologist, researcher & science communicator James O’Hanlon.

Our current theme: “SciComm in Africa”

Pearl Osirike: “The beginning of a new era: science communication in Africa”

A Crastina Column by Pearl Osirike, Ph.D. student at West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana.

Read the Crastina Column

This time, we will learn more about SciComm activities emerging from a geographical area which is often overlooked in the general discussion about science and its communication: Africa.

On the one hand, it is true that African academia has to cope with persistent challenges like poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, staff shortages and recruitment problems. The everyday struggle of experimental scientists is hard to imagine for those who work in labs in Europe and North America. For example, the difficulty of transporting tissue samples and biomolecules sometimes add weeks and months to projects – parcels are lost, frozen samples become thawed and are ruined on the way, et cetera.

On the other hand, anyone who studies the websites of African universities and research institutes will be met by an impressing vitality and optimism. Innumerous projects are ongoing across this vast continent, and many of them include SciComm activities which all provide a lesson for anyone ready to read, ask and reflect.

We have rarely felt such anticipation when initiating a theme here at Crastina; we are confident that we all – authors and readers have much – to learn.

For The Crastina Crew

Olle Bergman, Project Leader