Outreach Week

One of VALIDATE’s key aims is to 'help interested people in the general public find out more about our research and the diseases we’re tackling in an accessible format'. With this in mind, Outreach Week, which ran from 7-11 December 2020, gave VALIDATE the chance to highlight all the amazing outreach efforts carried out across the globe by our members. We provided tips and ideas for our members about how to engage the public about their research.

Outreach week is over but VALIDATE Members can still get involved.

Let us know about your own outreach projects (and how we can help)

Have you undertaken your own successful outreach activity? Whether you have done an interview with your local newspaper, appeared on a podcast, speaking at a school, or delivering a simple social media campaign, we would love all our members to let us know how you have engages the public about your research. We are especially keen to see photos and videos that we can share via social media - drop us an email, or use #VALIDATEOutreach to ensure we see your efforts and can share them with everyone else across VALIDATE. And, of course, get in touch if we can help in any way with your outreach efforts (VALIDATE@ndm.ox.ac.uk).

Contribute to the Outreach Guide

VALIDATE has pulled together an 'Outreach Guide', with fantastic case studies, tips and resources from VALIDATE members (and some of our external partners) to inspire you to engage the public with your important research. This is just a first version as we hope that the guide will become a living document that will expand as members add their own case studies and advice.

We are especially keen to receive contributions from members who have:

• engaged the print, broadcast and social media in Lower and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
• undertaken recruitment for clinical trials, especially in LMICs
• have taken part in an outreach project in Asia or South America

Find out more on our Outreach Guide page.

VALIDATE for Schools

In 2020, VALIDATE hosted its first 'VALIDATE for Schools' event, an online talk and Q&A for young people. Since then we have hosted many in-person and online Schools events, aiming to engage kids aged 11-18 in science, research, vaccinology and careers in STEMM.

Find out more about this programme, and how you can get involved, on our VALIDATE for Schools page.