Doha science conference open to African journalists

6 Apr 2011

Science journalists in Africa have been offered the opportunity to participate in the seventh World Conference of Science Journalists in Doha, Qatar this June. The conference which is open to 100 journalists reporting in developing countries like Uganda is scheduled to take place from 27-29 June 2011, according to Nadia El-Awady, the president of the World Federation of Science Journalists.

She said the meeting will explore the challenges of reporting science in a crisis. "We will discuss pseudoscience, publishing popular science books, covering oil spills, how to confront bad science, and how the changing face of journalism is affecting all of us, and many other issues," said El-Awady, who doubles as the co-director of the World Conference of Science Journalists 2011, in an email to journalists in Uganda.

Exploring changes in Arab world

The conference will come in the wake of the continuing Japanese crisis, floods and earthquakes around the world that have kept science reporters on the edge of their seats. It will also focus on the first-hand accounts of the dramatic changes sweeping the Arab world. "Our vantage point is Qatar, the home of Al-Jazeera whose journalists are leading the reporting on the revolutionary changes. And we'll explore what these changes will mean for science in the
Middle East."

The conference was initially scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt this June, but was later moved to Doha; following the first phase of the country's revolution that led to the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak.

180 speakers lined up

The conference organisers have lined up a list of over 180 speakers from all over the world to speak to the participating journalists. Some of the speakers include; Ahmed Zewail, Linus Pauling, chair of chemistry and professor of physics, California Institute of Technology; Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Mariette di Christina, editor-in-chief of Scientific American; David Dickson, director, SciDev.net; Alok Jha, The Guardian (UK); Andrew Jack, The Financial Times; Shan Juan, China Daily; Robert Lee Hotz, The Wall Street Journal; Pallab Ghosh, BBC TV News; and Henry Fountain, The New York Times.

The program will also focus on the impact of the revolutionary times in the Arab world and how they have been affected by social media and their impact on science and journalism. Qatar Foundation, the conference sponsor, is expected to put together a list of field trips on 30 June to give participants an opportunity to explore what is happening in terms of research and development in Qatar.