Latin America, Science Communication In

Due to the cultural, economic, social, and historical diversity of the several countries in Latin America, science communication should not be seen as homogeneous in the region. The history of science communication in Latin America (as in many other regions) is far from being fully mapped out, but it is known that countries such as Brazil have a long tradition in the field. The newspaper O Patriota, for example, was already covering science issues in the beginning of the 19th century (1813), as soon as the prohibition of printing was banned in Brazil, a trend followed by other newspapers in the same century. Continuing this long tradition of Brazilians communicating science, public conferences held in the latter part of the 19th century and the first Brazilian radio, created in 1923 by scientists for communicating science issues, should be noted. An important early tool for communicating science in Latin America was the natural history museums, created in the 19th century in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay—to mention some of them. However, during this period, science communication had a limited impact on society for the most part, reaching mainly the elites.

After World War II, newspapers and magazines started publishing sections and articles on science and technology, as result of an effort of both [Page 443]individuals enthusiastic about science journalism and a more organized movement engaging several countries. A first seminar on science journalism was delivered in Chile in 1962, supported by CIESPAL, the International Center of High Studies in Communication for Latin America. In 1965, the Argentinean Association of Science Journalism was created, headed by the physicist and science journalist Jacobo Brailovsky. In 1969, the Iberoamerican Association for Science Journalism was founded, then directed by the Spanish science journalist Manuel Calvo Hernando. Another enthusiast of science journalism and cofounder of the Iberoamerican Association for Science Journalism, Arístides Bastidas, pushed the area in Venezuela, where in 1968 he created a Sunday science section in the main newspaper, El Nacional, and, in 1971, the Circle on Science Journalism.

As part of the same movement—which included among their main objectives creating a good atmosphere for science journalism and for training journalists for covering science stories—Colombia (in 1976), Chile (in 1976), and Brazil (in 1977) created their own national associations. Among the group who created the Brazilian Association was José Reis, who is considered to have had a key role in science journalism in Brazil. Due to his importance, the Brazilian government created the José Reis Prize for Science Communication in 1978. This more organized movement toward science journalism later reached other countries, including Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica—all of them in the same year, 2005—and Bolivia (in 2007), some of them with the profile of a network instead. A network for science journalists was also created in Argentina, in 2007, by the younger generation, joining together at the present moment 110 journalists who, among other activities, keep up an electronic discussion.

In 1990, the “Red Pop” network, a network on science popularization for Latin America and the Caribbean, was created. This network is not limited to science journalism. Red Pop has as its main objective to strengthen the interchange of ideas and to promote cooperation. Its meetings, carried out every 2 years in different countries, have been important forums for discussion since the network's founding, mainly for science centers.

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