NEWS

The best science journalists are noted for their curiosity and open-mindedness, both qualities that are embodied in the trio of experts who have been invited as our keynote speakers.

They are advocate Cormac Cullinan, winner of the 2025 Shackleton Prize for the Protection of Polar Regions, Dr David Obura, Chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and Prof Linda-Gail Bekker, Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

On 2 December 2025, South African Cormac Cullinan, a practising environmental attorney, will speak about changing perspectives on our place and role on the planet, as science journalists and as humans.

He has provided counsel to governments and contributed to the creation of environmental treaties, laws, and policies in more than 30 nations. His influential book, Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice (2002), contributed to the global Rights of Nature movement. Cullinan was instrumental in drafting the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth and is actively involved in the Antarctic Rights and Table Mountain Rights initiatives. This founding member and executive committee member of the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature (GARN) is also involved in its African Hub. He was honoured with the Ecologic awards for lifetime achievement in 2018 and the Eco-Leadership award in 2021. In 2012, he was recognized with the Nick Steele award as South African Environmentalist of the Year.

On 3 December, Kenyan marine biologist Dr David Obura will take environmental concerns in another direction, by looking directly at the role of science journalists to translate science into relevance on the street. He knows all too well that science and science journalism stand at a particularly difficult crossroads where trust in science has been eroded, and he hopes to inspire science journalists to take particular steps to rectify the situation, using data to shape not only public narratives but also policy.

Dr Obura, the Director of Coastal Oceans Research and Development – Indian Ocean (CORDIO) East Africa, serves as Chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and is a member of the Earth Commission. He was awarded Kenya’s national honour, Moran of the Burning Spear, in December 2021, and received the Coral Reef Conservation Award from the International Coral Reef Society in 2022.

On 4 December, we look forward to hearing from Prof Linda-Gail Bekker, Chief Executive Officer of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation and Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Prof Bekker, an internationally renowned scientist, is a physician, infectious disease specialist and a former president of the International AIDS Society.

In July 2024, she received a standing ovation at the 25th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) after announcing the results of the PURPOSE 1 Trial that demonstrated that lenacapavir is 100% effective in preventing HIV transmission.

As a member of various international scientific and advisory committees, she is able to share an international perspective on the intersection and interaction of public health with politics and policy, on antiretroviral roll-out and TB integration, prevention of HIV in women, youth and MSM, and health equity as a whole. These themes resonate with the WCSJ 2025 focus on social justice.