International DAAD Alumni Seminar
"Scientific Communication- (new) actors and challenges" - Tropentag 2015
9- 19 September 2015
Participants visit and workshop in Witzenhausen
The Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (Section Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Forestry) organized in mid-September an alumni seminar on "Scientific Communication- (new) actors and challenges" in Göttingen. The seminar was financially supported by the DAAD. Selected out of 440 applicants, 12 female and 13 male DAAD alumni from 24 developing countries met for a multidisciplinary practice exchange in the field of sustainable land use management. The discussion with the participants from research institutions, government departments, consulting services and NGOs showed that there are complex communication challenges from local to international level. One result was that the success of projects is depending on an early identification of preferably all stakeholders and the active involvement of communication experts. After the workshop the group traveled together with alumni from Witzenhausen to the Tropentag 2015 in Berlin with more than 1,000 participants.
Exploring the tropical greenhouse in Witzenhausen
[Scientific] Communication
The programme in Göttingen included a full-day workshop in Intercultural Communication, moderated by Dr. Stefanie Steinebach, which was rated with high interest and positive feedback from the very heterogeneous group of participants. Lively discussions and role plays rounded up the overall idea of "exchanging experiences and perspectives".
Preparation of results
Besides presenting various examples of the participants' own professional and regional background, the group worked on designing a poster with the outputs of the Alumni seminar to exhibit it during the Tropentag 2015.
On stage at Tropentag 2015
In order to demonstrate the relevance of a professionally moderated Scientific Communication, the participants developed and presented a role play dealing with the communication between different stakeholders concerning an agricultural and environmental issue.