The 14th Public Communication of Science and Technology conference will be held in Istanbul from the 26th-the 28th of April. Robert Inglis, director of Jive Media Africa, heads to the annual event where leaders in science communication gather to network and develop strategies to further the goal of getting the public to engage with science and technology. Director Robert Inglis will be presenting the Hip Hop Health Research, Rhythm and Rhyme initiative to the conference to demonstrate its effectiveness in encouraging the youth to engage with science and health. The use of music, specifically hip hop, as a medium through which the material is analysed and the information is disseminated has yielded very positive results. The Hip Hop Science Spaza programme results in songs which are used to empower researchers into active roles as scientists in society. It shows that solutions to the issues that their communities face can be found through science so it is important to involve young people in the public communication of science. These success stories will be shared with the science communication community at the conference. For more information on Science Spaza visit www.sciencespaza.org.

Inglis will also be presenting on another initiative of Jive Media Africa: Agent Zee. This is a platform for the upliftment and development of women in science and is aimed at high school seniors and tertiary students. Female scientists remain under-represented in leadership positions in South Africa and so Agent Zee seeks to combat this by providing information on education and career opportunities as well as profiling role models and inspiring success stories for aspiring female scientists. If you’d like to find out more about Agent Zee, visit www.agentzee.org.