image: A workshop session highlights the interactive and practice-based approach that defines the symposium.
Credit: JSF
The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo is proud to announce that it will host the PCST Japan Symposium 2025, to be held from 11–13 November 2025. This joint international symposium marks the first time the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Network brings a symposium to Japan, and the seventh conference of the Japan SciCom Forum (JSF).
The symposium will bring together researchers, practitioners, educators, and policymakers from across Asia and beyond to explore the strategic development of science communication in non-Western contexts. It is organised around two central questions that guide its themes: ‘how can we establish formal and informal education and training programmes in Asia to professionalise science communication’ and ‘how can we bridge the gap between science communication research and practice to engage with diverse audiences.’
Through a combination of keynotes, contributed talks, and interactive working group sessions, participants will co-develop ideas and recommendations that respond directly to these questions. The event will culminate in the production of two papers, each addressing one of the themes, to guide future policy and practice in science communication across Asia.
The symposium features two Big Idea keynotes. Professor Sujatha Raman, UNESCO Chair in Science Communication for the Public Good at the Australian National University, will open with a talk on science communication as an effort to ‘culture’ science. Dr. Asako Okamura, Senior Research Fellow at Japan’s National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP), will deliver the second keynote, focusing on foresight and the future directions of science communication.
Post-symposium activities on 13 November will include the EurekAlert! Japan User Meeting and a series of skills-based workshops on topics such as responsible AI use in communication, institutional branding, avoiding hype in science storytelling, and integrating generative AI into public engagement.
“Hosting PCST Japan 2025 at ELSI underscores our commitment to advancing dialogue between science and society and to amplifying diverse voices from Asia in global discussions on science communication,” said symposium co-chair and Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Thilina Heenatigala (ELSI).
For more information, visit: https://www.japansci.com/conference/jsf25
Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) is one of Japan’s ambitious World Premiere International research centers, whose aim is to achieve progress in broadly inter-disciplinary scientific areas by inspiring the world’s greatest minds to come to Japan and collaborate on the most challenging scientific problems. ELSI’s primary aim is to address the origin and co-evolution of the Earth and life.
Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) was established on October 1, 2024, following the merger between Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), with the mission of “Advancing science and human wellbeing to create value for and with society.”
World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) was launched in 2007 by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
Japan SciCom Forum (JSF) is a community of science communicators. We aim to build a network to share knowledge, highlight best practices and new tools, and boost English-language science communication in Japan. The JSF organises an annual conference and regular online meetups called 'socials' to gather the community. These conferences gathered over 500 researchers, practitioners, lecturers, public information officers, and students across Japan. The community now meets bimonthly online for relevant presentations and shares job postings and events via a mailing list with over 300 members.