Learning to Deal with New Technologies: The Example of Genetically Modified Plants

Client: UNESCO Science Sector

Publication design and layout; data visualizations; infographics; tables; photo editing. 180 pages

The world’s societies are rapidly becoming knowledge-based. Scientific and technological developments have had a lot to do with this trend, wIth communications technologies at the forefront of this change. As scientific knowledge expands it is quickly applied to develop new technologies or products that in turn soon become ordinary things that we use at home or at work every day. In today’s world, with the onset of globalization and easier travel and communication, what is developed or produced in one region of our planet can very quickly touch us all. 

New technologies and products are often designed to make life better – by speeding up a process or solving a problem. But as individuals we need the skills, knowledge and competencies to make informed decisions on whether to use, or how to best use, a particular scientific discovery, technology or product. For these reasons, people, organizations, businesses and nations that do not know how to use or develop these new technologies are quickly becoming dependent on those who do. One way to approach this challenge is through improving scientific and technological literacy.

This teaching toolkit represents an effort to meet that challenge.