CLOSING PLENARY
So… what’s next?
As the first WCSJ on African soil comes to an end, where do we go from here? Before we all head home across the world, join a panel for some closing reflections on what’s next for our profession. How do science journalists operate amid environmental collapse and political disorder? Where are the brave employers providing staff jobs? Should we all aspire to influencing? Is AI the future, the end, or just another passing technology?
Graciele Almeida de OliveiraSpeaker | Brazilian Network of Science Journalists and Communicators | Brazil
Graciele Almeida de Oliveira is a specialist science journalist with a doctorate in biochemistry from the Chemistry Institute of the São Paulo University (USP).
Rich StoneSpeaker | Science | USA
Rich Stone is senior international correspondent for Science Magazine, where his writing has featured datelines from challenging reporting environments such as war-torn Ukraine, Iran, and China. He also serves as special advisor, science diplomacy and engagement for the Human Frontier Science Program organisation and is a consulting editor for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. Stone is a two-time Fulbright Scholar, once in Russia in 1995-96, and in Kazakhstan in 2004-05. He has visited North Korea seven times and counting to report on science there. He has contributed to Discover, the Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic magazines, and is author of the nonfiction book Mammoth: The Resurrection of an Ice Age Giant.
Rosalia OmungoSpeaker | Kenya Environment and Science Journalists Association | Kenya
Rosalia Omungo is the CEO of the Kenya Editors’ Guild. She aims to advance journalism excellence through mentorship, policy advocacy, and community engagement. She was an MIT Knight Journalism Fellow in 2017, had previously has worked as a TV editor and climate reporter. She has been a Commonwealth awardee, and a scholar at UC Berkeley.
Shakoor RatherSession proposer, producer and speaker | Science Matters | India
Shakoor Rather is CEO of Science Matters and former editor-in-chief of INDIAai. A journalist and author with over 14 years’ experience, he has reported from 15 countries and champions science communication, AI literacy, and investigative reporting. He is the founder of Science Matters, a UNESCO media literacy partner, former editor-in-chief at INDIAai, and science editor at Press Trust of India (PTI).
Trang BuiSpeaker | Mekong Eye | Vietnam
Environmental journalist Trang Bui covers issues in Vietnam and the Mekong region. As an editor at Mekong Eye, one of the few English news platforms dedicated in-depth and investigative environmental reporting in the region, she writes, edits and produces documentaries. This Fulbright scholar was part of a team that won an Online Journalism Award in 2020 for a documentary on transnational pangolin smuggling.
Ehsan MasoodModerator | Springer Nature / Nature magazine | United Kingdom
Ehsan Masood is a senior editor with Nature, where he is responsible for the journal’s editorial commentary, as well as for commissioning science news from countries in Africa and the Middle East.