Key takeaways from this meeting brought to light the need for scientists and communicators to work together to curb the common challenges faced by Science Communicators and journalists when communicating the basic science of gene drive technologies. The lack of trust between journalists and scientists was posed as a huge hindrance to proper communication and media coverage of science stories bringing about misinformation and sometimes half-baked science stories. Furthermore, the use of technical language and terminology is also one of the communication barriers. A clear outcome from the pre-conference course on communicating the uncertainties of emerging biotechnologies is that more efforts towards communication and leaning towards training of all experts involved is needed to bridge this gap.

One resolve that came from the course was that scientists were encouraged to involve journalists and communicators in the technology and development process to facilitate smoother communication and alignment of efforts.

One of the core recommendations emerging from the course was the need for collaborative efforts especially in Africa to contribute to an all-round approach to communication strategies aimed at enhancing public understanding of emerging biotechnologies. This will help counter misinformation eradicating the fears that come with the fear of unknown especially to the public.

This pre-conference course marked a huge milestone towards changing the future of science communication in Africa and building trust between scientists, researchers, journalists and science communicators