• Project Title: “Communicating Science in South Africa”
  • Date of Trip: May 28-June 12, 2026
  • UM System Participant: Dr. Lara Zwarun, Associate Professor, Department of Communication & Media, University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL)
  • UWC Host: Dr. Sisanda Nkoala, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Western Cape (UWC)

Project Details

Aims and Objectives

This project sought to capture a nuanced perspective of how scientific information is communicated in South Africa, a nation heavily affected by both health crises such as Covid, and environmental ones, such as extreme weather due to climate change. 

The objective of the study is to understand how community journalists and science communicators in South Africa strategically share information about science topics, such as environmental, health, and risk issues. Our intention was to gain first-hand insight into how this is done with audiences who may find “science” alienating or irrelevant due to research and scholarship originating in the Anglosphere instead of the Global South, and who speak a dozen national languages.

Project Work

Rather than engaging in one-sided data collection or lecturing, we wanted to invoke principles of community-based participatory research and interact with real science communicators about their work and challenges. To accomplish this, we designed and conducted workshops and interviews involving South African community journalists and marketing professionals for science-related institutions. Through this format, we learned more about these professionals’ motivations, tactics, and constraints in achieving reach and involvement with their audiences with respect to scientific information.

The recruited journalists included freelancers, salaried reporters, and the editor of a specialty scientific magazine. A number were also involved in community organizing and social justice issues, and a few were also graduate students. They represented different types of media (e.g., newspapers, broadcast, multi-media) and different regions, enhancing their ability to learn from and about each other. The marketing communication professionals served as liaisons between their employers and other stakeholders, such as the general public, policy-makers, other scientists, and funders. They represented university-affiliated or national institutions in fields including food security, space exploration, and biodiversity specimen collections.

One activity from the workshops was a role play in which participants were assigned personas representing different stakeholders (for example, a community healer and a scientist, or a reporter and an editor) and decided how a news story including them should be presented. Another activity involved ranking stakeholders, such as the scientist(s) from whom the information originated, community activists, media outlets, marketing professionals, and local citizens, on characteristics such as reachability, accuracy, and trustworthiness. Participants used the ‘Mentimeter’ app to anonymously indicate their level of agreement with statements regarding the languages they and others used, then engaged in a group discussion about the results. The workshops also included ample time for less structured conversation among participants and with the researchers.

Outcomes Achieved

The interactions with participants were a great success. Their participation was enthusiastic, and most offered to stay in touch. We collected rich qualitative data in the form of (de-identified) transcripts to code for themes and extensive written notes.

The connection made among Dr. Nkoala, her postdoctoral researcher Dr. Rebecca Pointer (who was a key asset in recruiting participants), and me was successful as well. We have continued to communicate regularly via Zoom and email. Our next step is conducting data analysis to generate submissions for conference presentations and journals.

The important role of ‘translating’ science from specialists to the lay public emerged repeatedly from the people we spoke to. We are now able to evaluate what participants told us about this process in terms of extant communication theories.

Prospects for future collaborations

Drs. Nkoala and Pointer and I have already begun discussing how we might build on this project. Learning from what we have already done gave us ideas for several directions we would like to further explore. For example, news editors were often mentioned as key decision-makers by the journalists in terms of prioritizing and supporting their work. We would like to conduct workshops and interviews with this group of stakeholders in the future. 

Of note is that Dr. Pointer was not initially part of the proposed research project, but has developed into a relevant and capable collaborator. Additionally, a contact that I made at a pre-conference I attended while in Cape Town has expressed interest in working on a paper with me.

Anticipated publications

A journal we are excited to target with our resulting manuscript is Global Perspectives in Communication, a newly-formed publication in our field specifically designed to disrupt what it calls “U.S.-centric models of scholarship” with work originating from and focused on locales around the globe. Rather than using our findings about South Africa for a comparison with US journalism, we will produce a manuscript with a stand-alone focus on the country that centers it rather than framing it as a point of contrast to Western journalism. In addition to this manuscript, we will submit our work to the International Communication Association conference, which both Dr. Nkoala and I were fortunate to attend in Cape Town during my visit.

External Funds Procured

As I only returned from South Africa earlier this summer, it is premature to already have procured additional funding. However, I would point to two things that bode well for it happening. One, I was able to procure additional funding for the trip described here from UMSL Global to extend my research in Cape Town to Johannesburg. They have been an important supporter of my international research, for which I am exceedingly grateful. 

Two, as evidenced by the new journal discussed above, it is an opportune time to be doing research focused on the Global South broadly. There has been a strong realization recently by Communication scholars (and perhaps scholars more broadly) that there is bias in scholarship that considers Western science and scientific practices as the standard by which all research should be judged, and concerted efforts to rectify this.  At the same time, President Trump’s cuts to a great deal of federal research funding have allowed other parts of the world to gain more prominence on the global research stage, as they continue to fund work. Thus, while in many ways it has become more challenging to procure funding for one’s research, work that has its focus on Africa may well be of greater interest to funders than it has been in past decades. 

Certainly, anecdotal reaction to our project has been extreme enthusiasm and curiosity. It was an incredibly rich and meaningful experience focused on a very important and relevant topic. We are incredible indebted to, and would like to thank, Rod Uphoff, the UMSAEP, and all who contribute to and support the long-standing relationship between UMSL and UWC. 

What part of the Fellowship had the greatest impact on your work?

Being able to be present rather than conducting virtual research was immensely valuable. As I am studying how South African professionals communicate science to their audiences, it was not just helpful, but also respectful, to be in those communities and meeting them where they do their work. Many of the exercises we conducted were much more effective with everyone in the same room interacting and sharing. Science is one of many contexts in which Western and American norms are considered to be the de facto, right, or real way to do things, with not enough attention paid to the Global South. To be able to capture and amplify South African voices, and to be able to discuss with South Africans how they grapple with those realities in their own work, was something that benefitted from the nuance of real-life interaction. 

Being present also allowed me to (briefly) experience the places and social interactions that form the experiences and perspectives being shared with me. A small example was the numerous racks of free local newspapers in the airport by the check-in gate when I flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg. We don't see that much anymore in the US, especially not free (advertiser-supported) publications, and it helped me to contextualize the role played by community journalism of the sort many of my participants conduct.

How did the Fellowship support or advance your research or creative project?

One of the biggest challenges in communication and other social science research is the ability to recruit participants for studies. Being able to offer modest stipends, as well as paying for car fare to attend the workshops, was a strong incentive for participation. This, combined with actually being present in South Africa, showed that I respected and valued participants’ time and insights, which I believe enriched my interactions.

Another major benefit was being able to attend the International Communication Association conference, which was held in Cape Town during my stay, as well as a preconference at Stellenbosch University on the theme of “The Dark Side of Social Conversations about Science.”  As any academic who attends conferences in their field knows, they always lead to serendipitous leads and interactions. This one was no exception, resulting in concrete connections with relevant people and numerous off-shoot ideas that emerged organically from my ability to be there.

In summary, thank you so very much for this award and the indelible experiences it made possible!