OREANDA-NEWS. The 8th Science Communicators’ Meet in its 7th year since inception in the Indian Science Congress held in D.N. Marshall Hall, J.N Library, University of Mumbai was inaugurated today in the august presence of eminent personalities. The event was graced by the Hon’ble Padma Bhushan Dr. R.A Mashelkar as the Chief Guest, Dr. S.B. Nimse, Vice Chancellor, Lucknow University, General President- ISCA; Dr. Rajan Welukar, Vice Chancellor of University of Mumbai; Dr. B.P. Singh, Head of National Council for Science & Technology Communication ,DST; Dr. Naresh Chandra, Pro Vice Chancellor of University of Mumbai and Local Secretary, ISCA; Dr. Arun Kumar, General Secretary, ISCA; Dr. Anuradha Ghosh Majumdar, Convener of the event. The ceremonial lamp was lit by the dignitaries present. Dr. Naresh Chandra welcomed the gathering and addressed the young students present. Dr. Arun Kumar started his speech by praising the Chief Guest and thanked Mumbai University for organizing the Congress in a grand manner and stated that the theme for the year was very much relevant in today’s age.

Dr. R. A. Mashelkar released the Abstract Book of 8th Science Communicators’ Meet as a compilation of the works of scientists and science communicators participating in the conference.

Dr. Anuradha Majumdar, Convener of the event, then broadly outlined the need and objectives of the meet and reiterated that such deliberations were crucial to propagate science to percolate to the grassroots. She added, “It is imperative to dissipate scientific knowledge in layman’s language and should transcend the entire horizon as well as keep pace with the changing paradigm. We have traversed the full circle to fathom the wonders of nature and understand the aberration. The onus is upon the scientific community to infuse the spirit of effective communication. The 8th Science Communicators’ Meet at the ISC 2015, Mumbai is a confluence of invited lectures on Science & Technology and its communication along with oral/poster presentations by scientists and science communicators. Thus, the objective of this meet is to deliberate & ideate on making science communication more lucid, greater coverage in native languages, providing correct perspective and lacking sensationalism. The ultimate aim is to expand the accessibility and outreach of various forms of Science Communication which is the key to greater Human Development and Sustenance.

Dr. B.P. Singh in his remarks backed the need for such a meet and hoped that the sheer presence of personalities like Dr. Kalam and Dr. Mashelkar would encourage communication as a tool to enrich the community and touch lives to a deeper level.

The main attraction of the meet, Padma Bhushan Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar addressed the gathering by praising the efforts involved in bringing together an array of Nobel laureates and equivalent and lauded the ongoing meet. Innovation as an aspect of Science should assume the central position for research in India. Dr. Mashelkar also pointed out the all encompassing speech of Shri Narendra Modiji, which focused upon utilizing the available resources to advance the sciences. He stated,” Social innovation is a must and the power of communication is tremendous but untapped for Science & Technology. The need to couple together government policies and research assumes significance in this aspect.” Dr. Mashelkar also stressed upon the need to eradicate the misconceptions about nuclear energy and thus hoped that Science Communicators’ Meet would achieve this objective. Dr. Mashelkar also hoped that the young innovators would turn towards and stay in the field of science and have scientists as role models. While concluding, Dr. Mashelkar aptly quoted, “I only think of the future, as that is where I am going to stay”.

Dr. Rajan Welukar, in his speech thanked Dr. Mashelkar for gracing the event and urged the gathering to go beyond their disciplines and promote effective communication. He also promised that the entire event and the symposia will be uploaded on YouTube.

Dr. Amit Krishna De, on behalf of Indian Science Congress and University of Mumbai, proposed the Vote of Thanks and expressed his gratitude to Dr. Mashelkar for his encouraging talk. In conclusion he hoped the meet would garner a huge turnout and be a grand success.