African Journalists Trained on Reporting Public Health Emergencies

Trainings on reporting public health emergencies are hard to come by – at least in sub-Saharan Africa. The recent Ebola crisis in West Africa revealed many lessons – especially during the initial stages – on how not to report and handle public emergencies.

When it comes to reporting this delicate area, journalists in many parts of the continent are often left to their own approaches with no reference point. When it comes to public health emergencies little nuances in the use of language can be a matter of life and death to large populations.READ MORE

Ebola: A ‘Challenging’ News Beat

The first time I walked for six hours to cover a news story was in August 2015 when Ebola had struck another part of my country. This time, eleven persons had died of the virus in a very remote village in Rivercess County – Eastern Liberia.

Covering this scoop was quite challenging: the bike ride, a mechanical breakdown, and then the long frightening nightly walk through the forest to a town cut-off from civilization, and then finally the trek back to base the next day.READ MORE

Carnival Science: 25 Years of Science Popularization in Latin America

25 years of science popularization in Latin America is the title of a new book, published by the network of Latin American science popularizers RedPOP, on behalf of the 25th anniversary of the organization.

The book highlights a range of important topics on the continent, interactive science museums, the challenges of science journalism, political instruments to develop a scientific culture, and most interestingly: Brazil’s carnival science.READ MORE

Call for more initiatives to improve science communication at 2nd Kenya Science Journalists Congress

At least 80 science journalists, communicators, scientists and researchers from Eastern Africa gathered on November 23-24, 2015 in Nairobi for the second Kenya Science Journalists Congress 2015. Over 30 presentations from different science and research organizations were made during the two-day congress widely hailed as a catalyst for science communication in the region.READ MORE

A new dawn for the Uganda Science Journalists Association (USJA)

Between 2008 and 2013 the Uganda Science Journalists Association (USJA) was growing in strides. Within that six year period it successfully organised an international science journalism conference, bided for the 2011 World Conference of Science Journalists, held annual science journalism fora and even gave awards of excellence to Ugandan science journalists. The following years and months had nothing much to write home about as the association could barely hold any activity to keep members together. But there is a fresh beginning – a new life that should see USJA grow stronger.READ MORE

Now open! Registration for Newsroom Access at AAAS Annual Meeting

The 2016 AAAS Annual Meeting will take place in Washington DC, February 11-15, 2016. Registration is now open for reporters and science communicators for newsroom access. News briefings start Thursday, February 11.

AAAS will feature more than 150 lectures, seminars, and symposia on emerging areas of research and topics at the intersection of science and society. READ MORE

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