Science communicators from Australia, the United States, Britain and European Union countries are trying to arouse dialogue between the public and scientists in kernel science and technology issues.

At the same time their colleagues in developing countries are struggling to bring as much basic scientific knowledge as possible to people in remote areas and disadvantaged social groups.

Sun Rong, head of the Xinjiang Science Popularization Team for Ethnic Minority People, has led his team, composed of people from different ethnic groups, to comb the vast grasslands and plateaux in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to spread key scientific knowledge to the people living there.

Each year, Sun and his team members travel over 50,000 kilometers, carrying posters, and giving out free science books and pamphlets relating to farming production skills, and video or films of science education programs.

In order to reach as many ethnic group members as possible, Sun's team tracks their festivals across the grasslands each year, where they get their scientific messages across with song and dance shows that illustrate specific areas of science.

The theatrical method developed out of necessity.

"At first, during our science popularization efforts among the Kazak people, we didn't have any Kazak team members. We only had some science pamphlets in the Kazak language, so we decided to rehearse a mime poorly designed, I should say to attract the people first, and then sent books to them," said Sun.

The team has had a few close shaves in the wilds also. One morning, Sun woke up to find the team's camp surrounded by hundreds of horses. If one had been spooked, the camp would have been trampled.

In the neighboring Republic of Korea, Sook-Kyoung Cho of the Korean Science Foundation (KSF) has also been reaching out to ordinary people. She and her colleagues attempt to impart to the ROK's rising number of housewives some of the latest scientific knowledge.

Funded by the KSF, science communicators went out to communities to persuade housewives to join the short-term training programs.

"At first many housewives refused to do so. But we told them, if they didn't have a good knowledge of science, it would be difficult for their children to be admitted into key universities. The method proved effective," said Cho.

Science communication has always to be carried out in accordance with a particular cultural context, she adds.

(China Daily June 29, 2005)