Science Communication Plan for COST Action: Relativistic Quantum Information (RQI)
The Science Communication Plan for RQI consists of the following activities.
- Use video podcasts to attract interest from the public to RQI research.
To this end, we plan a series of podcasts that will involve interviews with scientists on topics of fundamental physics relevant to RQI, for which there is a large audience among the general public. This includes topics such as the Information Paradox in Black Holes, Interpretations of Quantum Theory, and the Future of Quantum Technologies. These podcasts will appear in online platforms like Youtube or Spotify, in the Action’s webpage, and we will use the broader network of Action members (e.g., their Universities) for broader circulation.
The budget allocated to this activity during the first two years will be small (less that 10,000 euros). If the podcasts turn out to attract a large audience, we will expand on this activity during the final two years of the Action. We will produce podcasts to promote specific results in the Action, and we will expand on less well known topics of RQI, for example, the issue of time and causality in Quantum Theory.
- Create an Action Webpage. The Action Webpage will present all activities of the Action, its deliverables in terms of seminars and lectures notes, and it will have a forum section, where researchers can communicate directly. The web page will also have a blog, where we will encourage Action Members to write popular articles describing their research. Members of the Working Group 4 that is dedicated to Outreach will identify the best articles and suggest submission to popular science publications with great visibility.
- The Action will encourage its members to pitch or author relevant popular-science articles to international science publications. The Action will also provide relevant training to all members in the form of online seminars. The Action foresees popular-science articles being about the Action’s research appearing in magazines such as Scientific American, Physics World, Physics Today, and the New Scientist, as well as in social media
- Develop educational multimedia materials. The Action will make an effort to prepare short animated explainers, infographics, and interactive modules introducing key ideas of RQI. This material would be tailored for teachers and students, distributed freely through the Action’s webpage and through collaborations with European educational networks. This would strengthen the outreach beyond the research community and ensure long-term visibility of RQI.
- The Action will send press releases to present its activities (training schools, conferences, outreach events), and also to report important scientific advancements in the field of RQI.
- The Action will try to include outreach activities in all conferences and workshops of the Action. The activities may include popular talks addressed to a broad audience. In some events, we will endeavor to include training activities for high-school teachers, to introduce them to the main ideas and prospects of Quantum Science and Technology.
- The Action will produce several white papers that describe its research outputs, and its longer- term vision. These will be non-technical communications addressed to stakeholders (research organizations, industry) and to policymakers.
- The Action will initiate contacts with policy makers at the EU and national levels, in order to promote the topics of the Action.