Science journalism took a leading role at Science Forum South Africa (SFSA) 2023 ![](https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_Nb_F7d8ITbulEvjDP8vNip1faDTkTcqJsAXdVjM9uy1Y9F9DX4eVqgmv-TAa1D2jJG0LjSR9mOKwtVVmHalgWP1jU-DPO3Wdhki2UXA9AJL74_dF7GQ2RbUvfKu8fS9fGOpeeyMrvHmrJa_gvxeCHKgK49m5etX48w=s0-d-e1-ft#https://mcusercontent.com/a8d11a901ac032467f5aed649/images/be3d39fb-3157-6098-9c61-432ab22a3984.jpg)
During the opening ceremony, WFSJ President Milica Momcilovic gave a speech to launch WCSJ 2025 – which will take place at the same venue. As the country’s Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande, looked on, Milica said: “The next World Conference of Science Journalists will be held in Pretoria in December 2025 … This is the first time that the World Federation of Science Journalists is going to have a conference on African soil. “I would like to thank Minister Nzimande … and would like to ask him to be a patron of our event in 2025.” The theme for the Forum was Igniting Conversations About Science – People, Partnerships, Priorities for the Decadal Plan. With 3 730 local and international delegates, SFSA is arguably the biggest science gathering in South Africa and continues to grow each year. SFSA 2023 hosted 26 pre-Forum side events that took place from 4 to 6 December, and from 7 to 8 December, 55 parallel panel sessions took place with discussions spread over 9 tracks. WFSJ board members organised two sessions – one on the role of AI in newsrooms and one on the practice of science journalism – as part of a track dedicated to science journalism at the event. ![](https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_Najv9l6KHmLJVU_x5TvGDWAcUNb_HBARzy6rfiCKcbREI5gZ-F2r6bJ7I-6bV4lCEo3twcVLAZoEhGwyJTKohxRJVsPHoubwMvCpyEji5zhXh4-usaOVr2LBgJyF7tzle7RVGJss7NNiMLO_gw0tEmsV6QOn47tc6dO=s0-d-e1-ft#https://mcusercontent.com/a8d11a901ac032467f5aed649/images/daa4d4fe-3330-425f-a89a-a9f48eee7b1b.jpeg)
A booth promoting WCSJ was placed next to the conference entrance, making the WFSJ logo the first thing that delegates saw on arriving at the venue. ![](https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NZ-22LKzEqvCa4mT82Bpu8F15P_vZjvvpoDgDnWuQMORMwlLbo592-rIgnoRvCORUt83Ir_dUc2tYfn4l49VIFHAvjYBi4tMRq_S2sdEw9rn_6sVVSt1ToZ462GF-qj_OT87KPVl6dsz_utVrbjlsFwbEjGYZPdFPg=s0-d-e1-ft#https://mcusercontent.com/a8d11a901ac032467f5aed649/images/03be5f52-8ccd-1ea7-6330-4deaf2dbdaaa.jpg)
Giving the final speech of the conference, WFSJ Vice-President Mandi Smallhorne said: “I’m here representing science journalists – the people who shine a light on science, tell stories about science, who hold science accountable, who make science meaningful. “I am here to announce that we are launching our website wcsj2025.org.” |