The risks of communication

The title of this column, the «risks of communication», is derived from the standard «risk communication». This is to signal that risk communication is not, as it is still believed or expected in many quarters, an simple and last step in a process which begins with a scientific activity (risk assessment), is followed by a technical one (risk management) and is finally accomplished with some initiative of information dissemination. Communication is much more than simply designing an information campaign for a specific audience. I consists in saying and not saying, doing and not doing, being present and being absent in a multiplicity of different circumstances.