Dr Mmboneni Muofhe, DDG, DSTI leads the discussion at Science & the City
ICGEB Science & the City joined South Africa’s Science Forum during the last week of November 2025 at the Forum’s 10th anniversary.
As a committed partner to the annual Science Forum South Africa, ICGEB once again hosted an engaging Session at the 2025 gathering, this year bringing the popular ICGEB communications model, Science & the City, to the Forum, whose theme for 2025 was Igniting Conversations about Science – Placing Science, Technology and Innovation at the Centre of Government, Education, Industry and Society.
Bringing science to the people, directly from the experts, the ICGEB session All eyes on AI in Science Communication looked at how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the world as we know it, as well as its impact on science communication.
With experts Mmboneni Muofhe, Deputy Director-General, South African Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Mpho Primus, Co-Director for the Institute for Artificial Intelligent Systems, University of Johannesburg, Jaco Jansen van Rensburg, Vice President of Corporate Training at ALX, Shirona Patel, Communications and Advancement Operations, University of Witwatersrand, and moderated by Lara Donaldson, Group Leader at ICGEB Cape Town, the engaging discussion looked at what science communicators can do to mitigate public doubts, as well as communicate science more effectively.
Key takeaway messages included the acknowledgement for the need for AI education, teaching AI literacy to empower the public to discern what information they can trust and how AI can be used for good. In addition, and of importance, that scientists and journalists must play a role in maintaining the human voice and exercising caution but not spreading fear.
Given the success and interest in this session, ICGEB Cape Town envisages hosting a second edition in Cape Town in 2026.
