European press officers meet at MLZ to continue a fruitful collaboration
The 5th European Neutron and Muon PR network meeting
Inês Crespo, 11/04/2014
European Neutron and Muon press officers and public relations have met on April 9th at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching near Munich. European neutron and muon science may benefit from this collaboration, as together we can reach out to a broader public.
Participants at the 2014 Press Officers' meeting in MLZ.
Over the morning we had fruitful discussions on how to improve Neutronsources.org, the international neutron website that the group helped to launch. For instance, following an appeal from Gerry Lander , the website we’ll soon have a History section with important historical articles and relevant references.
In the afternoon we had a science communication session. Sara Fletcher from ISIS gave the group valuable advice on how to increase the impact of communication activities. To close the day, we were introduced to two innovative formats of communication. Antonia Rötger from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) explained the advantages of the recently launched #HZBzlog where HZB’s scientists explain their daily work in videos and blog posts. Andrea Voit from MLZ showed us how the world can now take a look inside the FRM II reactor and experimental halls and learn about neutron research explained by scientists themselves in the new i-pano interactive panorama Science 360⁰.
The press officers’ network was created in 2011 when the group met for the first time in Garching. During a second meeting in May 2012 in London they discussed the Neutronsources.org website content and finally agreed on a basic concept. The third meeting was held in Grenoble in October 2012 to discuss the website outline. Final decisions with regards to the launch and dissemination were taken over a virtual meeting in July 2013.
These meetings are very good opportunities to share experiences and good practices so that everyone can go back home with fresh ideas on how to promote important results achieved in their facilities.
Have a look at Neutronsources.org !
