Annual Report 2025 - Report - Page 54
Workshop
Building Trust, Inclusion, and
Integrity Through Communication
The Science Communication Workshop, facilitated by Lindau Alumni Shane Bergin
and Leonhard Möckl, invited Young Scientists to explore what it means to communicate
science with creativity, responsibility, and care.
Participants considered how communication shapes the
relationship between science and society – not simply as a
skill to be learned, but as a shared act of integrity and openness. The workshop was part of a larger effort to transform
the Lindau Guidelines – which aim to promote a humancentred, sustainable, and respectful culture in science,
as well as open and effective communication with the
general public – into actionable strategies and recommendations for individual scientists at all career stages.
What emerged from the session was a clear sense that
Young Scientists at Lindau sought to play their part in
protecting science and scientists around the world. They
recognized that trust in science depends on a thriving international community of researchers who are free to ask
questions, challenge assumptions, and speak their truth.
The workshop was both practical and reflective.
Working in small groups, participants shared experiences, identified challenges, and imagined how meaningful change might take root. They explored ideas around
storytelling, trust, inclusion, and ethics, guided by a process that encouraged listening, reflection, and creative
experimentation. The session invited them to see communication not as an afterthought to research, but as
52 | #LINO25 Engaging Programme Formats
part of its very essence – a way of giving meaning and
context to scientific discovery.
One group tackled the growing problem of exaggerated scientific claims. They developed HypeLess, a browser
tool designed to help scientists identify inflated or vague
language and replace it with clear, honest phrasing (now
available as HypeLessLi on Chrome). Their idea went beyond writing style to speak to the ethics of research itself,
aiming to make transparency habitual and to remind the
community that integrity in communication is as vital as
integrity in data.
Another group reflected on the strained relationship
between science and politics. They proposed new kinds
of dialogue between scientists, journalists, and citizens –
short videos and open public discussions where genuine
needs meet genuine expertise. Their vision was of scientists not as distant authorities, but as partners in solving
shared problems.
A third group explored how storytelling can make science more relatable and memorable. They emphasised
the emotional power of narrative and metaphor to connect audiences to complex ideas, describing storytelling
as a bridge between knowledge and empathy – a way of
