About

The World Federation of Science Journalists is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization of some 70 science journalists’ associations which represent up to 10,000 individual science and technology journalists from around the world. It has the status of a charitable organization with the government of Canada, the country where it is legally registered.

Mission

The mission of the World Federation of Science Journalists is to be a forum where science journalists from all over the world share and learn from each other, participate in training activities, and mobilize resources, with the objective of strengthening and professionalizing science journalism.

The WFSJ seeks to:

• Promote and strengthen the role of science journalists as key players in society.
• Improve the quality of science reporting, promote standards, and support science and technology journalists worldwide.
• Mobilize resources and expertise for the training of science journalists, particularly training activities and programs designed and implemented by science journalists.

Activities

• The WFSJ promotes and defends the free flow of information and open dialogue about scientific research and related issues, which are essential to good science journalism.
• The WFSJ provides a forum for its membership and the wider public, to share advances, achievements, challenges, opportunities, and trends in science journalism internationally.
• The WFSJ promotes best practices in science journalism.
• The WFSJ organizes the World Conference of Science Journalists every two years, in different regions of the world.
• The WFSJ undertakes training, mentoring, and education of science journalists globally through initiatives such as conferences, workshops, mentoring schemes, and other professional opportunities.
• The WFSJ supports science journalism associations and encourages the foundation of new ones.

Membership

WFSJ members are national, regional, and international associations that represent science journalists, broadcasters, writers, and editors working across all media platforms. Meet our members.

To become a member of the WFSJ, an association applies and is accepted in accordance with the WFSJ bylaws. Membership applications will be reviewed and decided upon by the WFSJ Board.

More information about joining the WFSJ is available here.

Charitable organization

The WFSJ has been an officially registered Canadian charitable organization since 2013 (registration number: 831911748RR0001).

Where your donations go

Donations contribute in a major way because they give WFSJ more flexibility to achieve its mission and objectives and to respond rapidly when journalists need support in covering stories in which science plays an important role.

The Creation of the WFSJ

The WFSJ was launched in November 2002 at the 3rd World Conference of Science Journalists in São José dos Campos (Brazil) where Canadian science writer and broadcaster Véronique Morin was elected the first president.

The idea of creating a World Federation of Science Journalists had already been discussed at the very 1st World Conference of Science Journalists, held in November 1992, in Tokyo, and  during the 2nd World Conference of Science Journalists, in July 1999, in Budapest.

The idea quickly took shape after Budapest, and science journalists attending the International Conference of Science and Technology Journalists, held at Tokyo in October 2001, agreed to proceed with the creation of a charter for a world federation, which was adopted at the 2002 conference in Brazil.

In October 2004, more than 600 participants from 58 nations attended the 4th World Conference in Montreal (Canada) and endorsed the decisions made in Brazil. For the first time, a representative and critical mass of 30 science journalists’ associations from all continents held the first Annual General Meeting, voted bylaws, elected a Board of Directors, and made WFSJ a federation of associations.

Australian science journalist and magazine editor Wilson da Silva was elected the WFSJ’s second president. The following year, thanks to the surplus from the 4th Conference, WFSJ registred to become a legal entity and opened its first office in Gatineau, Québec, Canada.

Two Decades later

On April 18th, 2007, during the 5th World Conference of Science Journalists held in Melbourne (Australia), BBC science journalist Pallab Ghosh became the third president.

In July 2009, Nadia El-Awady from Egypt was elected as the fourth president during the 6th World Conference held in London (United Kingdom).

From 2005 to 2013 were exceptional years. WFSJ implemented the SjCOOP Project in Africa, the Middle East, and South-East Asia, a mentoring scheme that remains the largest international science journalism training initiative. That period ended with WFSJ obtaining charitable status with Revenue Canada.

Curtis Brainard was confirmed as president in June 2015 during the 9th World Conference of Science Journalists in Seoul (Republic of Korea).

Mohammed Yahia was elected at the 10th World Conference (WCSJ2017) in San Francisco (USA) and was in office for two years.

Milica Momčilović, was elected president at the 11th World Conference (WCSJ2019) in Lausanne (Switzerland).

In its second decade of existence, roughly from 2009 to 2019, the WFSJ’s World Conferences of Science Journalists became its main achievement, bringing together more than a thousand science journalists from dozens of countries.  Then, the Covid years’ challenges were compounded by a growing gap between membership and leadership. Nevertheless, after a difficult 4-year hiatus, the 12th World Conference of Science Journalists was successfully held in Medellin (Colombia).

Since June 2024, a new board of Directors, with Benjamin Deighton as president, has made reconnecting with the membership a priority.

If you are looking for an indication of the representativity and relevance of the World Federation of Science Journalists have a look at the Guiding Principles for Journalists Covering Science, result of years of worldwide consultations and discussions.