Breaking barriers in science communication

Daniela Navarro-Perez collaborates with organisations and volunteers to increase access to science news in Spanish-speaking communities.

Daniela is a postgraduate researcher in the School of Earth and Environment and an Assistant Professor at Universidad de Magallanes, Chile.

She volunteered as co-leader with Eos, Planeteando and GeoLatinas on the initiative ‘GeoTraductores.’ 

GeoTraductores translates science news from English to Spanish, to provide Spanish-speaking communities access to new findings.

The cross-organizational project has translated, edited and published over 150 articles, breaking the language barrier for Spanish-speaking readers. 

The translations were coproduced with volunteers—primarily women, early-career geoscientists and native Spanish speakers. 

Significant increase in Spanish-speaking audiences

The project had an instant impact: for Eos, website traffic from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and Europe rose from 20% in 2020 to 85% in 2023. 

Increased access to science in Spanish empowers communities by sharing knowledge about environmental issues, health and technology.

Policymakers, educators, community leaders and the public in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking regions can inform their practices with information from the translated science. 

To improve access and inclusion, the team has started co-producing audio versions of the translated articles. 

The first audio publication accompanies the article “Researchers Develop Mexico’s First Comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Budget,” translated by Dr Bernardo Bastien-Olvera, co-founder of Planeteando.

The need for multilingual science communication

Daniela co-authored the paper ‘GeoTraductores: a Collaborative Initiative Democratizing Science Communication in Latin America,’ which describes the initiative and the lessons learned by the team. 

These learnings include the recruitment and training of translators, communication between leaders and volunteers and the outreach of translated articles. They’ll help other science communication groups to adopt the model.

Daniela said: “The impact of GeoTraductores demonstrates the need for more multilingual platforms in scientific communication.

“GeoLatinas' experience in co-leadership and mentoring strategies has made our volunteers feel part of a community with a sense of belonging.

“In contrast, Planeteando's experience in scientific communication for all audiences, especially school pupils, has made this collaboration of translations successful. 

“Eos, together with its other translation projects, contributes to the democratization of science. We hope our initiative will inspire SiComm collectives and mainstream platforms to communicate multilingually.”

Breaking down barriers in science

Mariela, Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, said: “I believe this initiative is a crucial step in breaking down barriers in science, related to both access and the recognition of what constitutes good science, especially when language is a subtle yet fundamental issue.

“It is often disheartening that 'top-tier' science is frequently published in languages that may not even be accessible to the local communities from which the research originates or aims to assist. 

“GeoTraductores has also fostered a supportive community through this initiative, providing me personally with the opportunity to practice my Spanish as someone who grew up speaking English as a second language in the US, while navigating the conflicting realities of our research world."

Nel, graduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said: “Spanish-speaking communities need spaces where they can access science news that is tailored for the public, written in a language and with vocabulary they can identify with. 

“This initiative recognizes that Spanish speakers deserve to be informed and simply have the opportunity to learn about science without getting discouraged by a language barrier.”

A great way to widen the reach of science

Anthony Ramírez-Salazar, Research Associate Insitute of Geology, National Autonomous University of Mexico and University of Leeds alum, said:  “I think this initiative is a great way to widen the reach of science to communities and people that do not speak the dominating language of academia (English).

“Since the project allows its participants to choose their article of interest, it has a variety of topics that could connect with different people. 

“It has been a good way to interact with scientists of different areas who have the passion to share science at different levels. I feel it will launch other collaborations focused on the democratization of knowledge.

M. Alejandra Gómez Correa, a graduate student at the University of Hamburg, said: “Being part of this initiative has been an enriching experience. With each translation, we seek to bridge the gap between the Spanish-speaking community and the latest geosciences and environmental sciences advances.

“As a native Spanish-speaking scientist, participating in GeoTraductores allows me to bring a little bit back home and stay connected with the community and with scientists in diverse research areas.”