The wonders of the world are being forgotten. It’s important to encourage news about environmental and cultural issues that concern society. Education in art, culture, and science provides a deeper understanding of the world and solutions needed to make it better. The future mass media industry should aspire to give a democratic nation the information they need to be aware of events that occur to the marginalized. These voiceless groups may include socially excluded communities, as well as endangered species or ecosystems on the Island. The effects that society has on the life of these targeted groups should be taken as a warning to educate on how to reduce these threats. Additionally, it’s important to spread the word about it, for everyone to find it relevant enough, and construct a community willing to solve these problems.
When Antonio S. Pedreira wrote about journalism in Puerto Rico, he said that the lack of support and encouragement toward Puerto Rican culture was responsible for its indifference when it came to arts, science, education, among other relevant institutions. Nowadays, information spreads more rapidly than ever, giving consumers the option to only read what they find relevant. How can a media industry that consistently cares about headlinining environmental and cultural news or issues be promoted?
In Puerto Rico, there are very few science magazines, organizations, blogs, places, and social media pages that nurture information about our ecosystems, species, art, and education. One of these is the “Revista del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña” (1958-1966) which includes history, art, investigation, music, and more. Other resources are 80grados prensasinprisa, a digital magazine that addresses diverse reflections on these topics, and the non-profit organization Ciencia Puerto Rico. Also, there is the Arecibo Observatory and the science museum called Ecoexploratorio, which offer educational science fairs and life exhibitions to students on the Island. Moreover, an example of celebrating art could be festivals such as Santurce Es Ley, that allow local and international artists to exhibit their work. There are, in addition, various Instagram pages on these topics, such as @turisteate.pr, which motivates internal tourism, or @todaspr and @con.sentimientospr, pages that encourage feminist conversations, addressed using a gender perspective, and other important social issues.
These movements and platforms around the Island aim to positively impact Puerto Rican society through the immense effort they put in. They do so by committing to inform the public responsibly. Even though their work is respected and promoted, Puerto Ricans should encourage them more, as well as the creation of new ones with equal purposes.
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Restore, reopen, and care for the animals in the Mayagüez Zoo.
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Create TV programs and channels that replace infotainment with local science and cultural education (Example: Animal Planet or The History Channel).
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Include daily talks by experts on local radio and TV programs, to educate its audience about local art, science, and culture.
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Support non-profit organizations like the Ecoexploratorio and the Arecibo Observatory so that they can reach more people and open up more establishments around the Island.
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Advocate for education in schools using local stories and movements.
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Create and share content more frequently from pages that promotes local food, land and beach cleanings, or reef saving (like Movimiento Playuela), art and culture festivals, and others.
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Take care of the UPR system campuses.
