Tropentag 2023, September 20 - 22, Berlin, Germany "Competing pathways for equitable food systems transformation: trade-offs and synergies."

Designing a framework for transferring climate information to non-experts (based on narrative communication and storytelling)

¹Agricultural Science and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Dept. of Agricultural Extension and Education, Iran
²Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Thaer-Institute, Germany
³Leibniz Centre for Agric. Landscape Res. (ZALF), Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries (SusLAND), Germany

Abstract

Despite the scientific consensus about climate change and its devastating effects on Earth, public perception has resisted some of the most important scientific indications of climate change. The skepticism and indifference of the target communities create significant barriers to the effectiveness of policies, which has made it necessary to reexamine strategies for communicating science to the public audience. There are two types of communication including scientific-logical communication and narrative communication in literature, which are most used in the design of scientific information transmission frameworks based on scientific-logical communication.
In recent years, researchers have paid attention to and studied narrative communication and storytelling as an effective form of scientific communication. By organising information in a way that is more understandable for human cognition, narratives help people to better understanding information and communicate with them. Research has shown that narratives are easier for non-experts to understand and audience find them more engaging than logical-scientific communications. Stories and narratives are a simple way for people to understand and understand information, which improves the acquisition and maintenance of information and encourages people to change their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours. In the transfer of science to non-specialist audience, stories, and narratives are not only more appropriate but also more effective than scientific reports, which can increase understanding, interest, and interaction. Researchers believe that logical-scientific and narrative communication are not only opposite forms of communication, but as two distinct cognitive paths of understanding and recognition, they have the potential to combine to achieve defined goals, especially in the field of awareness-raising in relation to climate change. Scientific professionals can help people better understanding, accept, and discuss climate change information by combining recent findings with narrative science.
This study tries to help design a climate information transfer framework for non-expert users in areas with poor educational infrastructure by reviewing the systematic research literature using the content analysis method.

Keywords: Climate change, information transfer, narrative communication, nonexpert audience

Contact Address: Masoud Yazdanpanah, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, 744581 Ahvaz, Iran, e-mail: masoudyazdangmail.com