On 14–16 October 2019 the WFSJ held a 2.5-day European Immunization Training Workshop at the Brocher Foundation site in Geneva, Switzerland.
Objectives and themes
The objective of the training workshop was to provide factual information on the state of immunization and to increase journalism skills for accurate coverage of immunization science in Europe. The training dealt with many vaccination-related topics relevant to the European context, such as basic vaccination science, the economy of vaccination, the science behind immunization strategies, vaccine hesitancy, and social media polarization.
Leaders of the workshop are Daniela Ovadia (science journalist, neuroscientist and neuroethicist, CESJ, Agenzia Zoe, Neuroscience and Society Lab at the University of Pavia) and Alexandra Borissova (science reporter, senior lecturer at the Center for Science Communication – ITMO University and visiting researcher at Rhine-Waal University)
Special guest speakers
- Fabiana Zollo (Ca’ Foscari University, International Center for the Humanities and Social Change) on the use of social media and polarization
- Emilie Karafillakis (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) on the role of culture and values in the anti-vax movement
- WHO experts Martin Howell Friede and Raymond Hutubessy on the economy of vaccination, the future of the immunization, research, and new vaccines
