Welcome to wcsj 2023

Upended by world events, the World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ), Medellín will now take place at the end of March 2023. Participants will begin and end each day with a walk through lush natural beauty as the event will be held in the stunning Jardin Botánico, a 13-hectare forest in the middle of a thriving Latin American city.

The World Conference of Science Journalists takes place every two years, and is the largest international event for science journalists to gather as peers, helping one another learn, grow, and thrive. The event has not happened since 2019  because of the COVID-19 pandemic and brings together some of the World Federation of Science Journalists’ 15,000 members in 53 countries.

During the conference, attendees will enjoy seminars, workshops, lectures and access to expertise from around the world. There will be opportunities to build contacts with other journalists and editors and to share ideas and experience, as well as field trips and discussions to provide outstanding material to report on.

For many it will be the first conference after so many virtual and online meetings, and we are together embracing a new normal; ensuring the travel is worthwhile. Successful conferences now and in the future need to provide first-hand views of a unique facility, which no photograph or video can do justice to; networking events and opportunities as well as the chance encounters that only happen in real life.

WCSJ Medellín will also offer:

  • A biodiversity hotspot to safeguard the world’s wilderness wealth
  • An unrivalled laboratory to help other nations take climate change adaptation
  • A model of how to feed populations in rapidly evolving tropical settings
  • A cultural storehouse where thousands of years’ worth of indigenous people’s knowledge can make a lasting contribution to the wisdom of future generations

This is the first time that WCSJ will take place in Latin America and will serve as a means for science writers from across the region to showcase their skills, build professional networks, and enhance their ability to contribute to the economic and social growth of their communities. It will be an important moment in the life of this region will provide lasting memories for all who join us.

Follow us on: TwitterFacebook

WCSJ Organizers

Organizing Committee

Steering Committee for Latin America

Program Committee

GENERAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION
Name of Meeting World Conference of Science Journalists 2023 | WCSJ 2023
Conference Theme Science Journalists - Reboot
Date of Meeting March 27-31, 2023
Venue Botanical Gardens
Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Official Language of Meeting English
Expected Attendance 750
Hosted by World Federation of Science Journalists
Meeting Organizer MCI Group Canada
Email: info@wcsj.org

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE WORLD CONFERENCE OF SCIENCE JOURNALISTS?

Over the past two decades, the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) has mounted the World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) every other year. The event has been held in cities across the globe, with the next edition arriving at Medellín, Colombia, in March 2023. Each of these gatherings lasts about a week and attracts hundreds of participants from the WFSJ membership, including some 10,000 science writers in 51 countries.

What do they do?

Like any assembly of professionals, attendees at WCSJ look forward to renewing acquaintances in person, catching up with friends and sharing the details of their most recent work. At the same time, this conference is an unrivalled showcase for science journalism’s state of the art. High-profile authors are on hand to talk about their books and answer questions about their methods and motivations. Researchers in cutting-edge areas of science, technology, and medicine are ready to interact with reporters who are eager to make even the most complex topics accessible to the widest possible audience. And the WFSJ highlights its own efforts to support and enhance science journalism through the 66 associations that make up the global membership.

What will take place at WCSJ2023 in Medellín?

This conference marks the first time the WCSJ has been held in the Global South, where a significant proportion of WFSJ members live and work. Many of the attendees are expected to come from Latin America, and much of the program content will deal with matters pertaining to science journalism in this region. More specifically, this content will deal with highly relevant topics such as these:

  • building relationships among new and established journalists within various local communities as well as across international borders
  • environmental matters, including the social and political impact of natural resource exploitation, the future of food production, and our ever more detailed understanding of changes in the planet’s climate
  • energy sources, with an emphasis on the evolution and feasibility of innovations that are cost effective as well as environmentally sustainable
  • the practical and ethical implications of biomolecular tools that can manipulate the genetic code of plants, animals, and human beings
  • how to discuss questions of risk and uncertainty in science
  • the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on journalism, which has highlighted the need to confront misinformation and disinformation
  • the demand for “solutions” journalism, which explores appropriate responses to major challenges faced by economies and societies, rather than simply dwelling on problems
  • the role of public policies that deal with science and technology
  • the potential of new technologies to transform media, for better or for worse

Keep me informed

map of Medellin, Colombia

The World Conference of Science Journalists in Medellin marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ), a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization based in Montreal, Quebec. Its membership consists of 70 science journalists’ associations in all parts of the globe, representing some 10,000 individual science and technology journalists from around the world. These members are national, regional, and international associations that include science journalists, broadcasters, writers, editors, and communicators working across all media platforms.

Read full description