By Gabriel Mascena and Letícia Meira – Ascom LAIS

Between June 16th and 18th, researchers from the Technological Innovation in Health Laboratory (LAIS/UFRN) attended the Intercom Sul, a national congress focused on communication research in the southern region of the country. With the theme “Communication Sciences against misinformation”, the event was held at the Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (Univali), on the Balneário Camboriú campus, in Santa Catarina. On the occasion, the RECSífilis project was presented, an audiovisual hackathon aimed at communication students for the prevention of syphilis in Brazil.

The term hackathon derives from the English words “hack” (to program) and “marathon” (marathon). Although it is related to programming applied to information technology, a hackathon is a strategy used to sharpen the creativity of participants in several areas, with a focus on developing solutions that meet a specific purpose. In the case of RECsífilis, a health communication challenge is proposed.

The announcement made by the researchers brought, besides explanations about the hackathon and the “Syphilis No” project, the free distribution of condoms to the participants. With the goal of bringing communication students from all over the country, the presence at Intercom Sul had a strategic character, considering the audience present at the event.

“Intercom is a very important and prominent event among communication students in the country. The partnership established to disseminate the RECsifilis in the South Regional was fundamental to give visibility to the competition and reinforce the role of communication in the health area”, highlighted Jordana Paiva, LAIS researcher, about the importance of the partnership with Univali in the dissemination of the project. “Communicating with creativity and innovation, in a strategic way, makes all the difference in the fight against syphilis and other STIs,” she added.

RECsífilis
RECsífilis is an action of the project “Syphilis No”, promoted by LAIS in partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and the Ministry of Health, aiming to bring a challenge to undergraduate students of Social Communication courses in developing innovative solutions for the prevention and confrontation of syphilis in pregnant women and congenital syphilis in Brazil.

For more details, visit https://recsifilis.sifilisnao.com.br/ or access the project’s social networks through @sifilisnao.

About Intercom
Intercom is a non-profit institution aimed at the exchange of knowledge among researchers and professionals working in the labor market. Every year, the institution promotes a national congress in the area of research in communication, which also takes place regionally throughout the country. In the South region, in 2022, the congress took place at the University of Vale do Itajaí, on the campus of Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina.