WORKSHOP
Whose story gets told? Who gets to tell them? A hands-on workshop on inclusive health reporting
Whose voices shape our understanding of health? This question is central to redefining diversity and inclusion within health journalism. Current reporting often overlooks or misrepresents the experiences of marginalised communities, which impacts on public perception, health equity, and trust in the media.
This hands-on workshop directly addresses this gap, offering journalists and communicators practical strategies to move beyond token representation. We will explore concrete methods for identifying and overcoming bias, diversifying sourcing of information in ethical ways, engaging communities meaningfully, and amplifying underrepresented voices authentically.
Participants will engage in interactive exercises designed to foster critical self-reflection and collaborative problem-solving. Journalists will leave equipped with ideas and actionable techniques to foster genuinely inclusive narratives and ways to reframe health reporting, ensuring the stories we tell truly reflect the diverse world we cover.
Manuela CallariSession proposer, producer and moderator | Freelance | Italy
Manuela Callari is a freelance science journalist who covers human and planetary health. She is passionate about creating nuanced and inclusive narratives by centering the voices and lived experiences of communities disproportionately affected by health and environmental challenges. Her work has been published by outlets including New Scientist, MIT Technology Review, Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian, Medscape, and others. In 2021, she won the Australasian Medical Writers’ Association Early Career Award for her article on how people with chronic pain dealt with lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was published in The Saturday Paper.
Sanne BreimerSpeaker | Inclusive Journalism | Netherlands
Sanne Breimer is the founder of Inclusive Journalism and a global media strategist, trainer, coach, and researcher. She helps journalists, storytellers, and leaders apply decolonial media practices, explore positionality, and create narratives that challenge the status quo. Breimer works with international media organisations, including SembraMedia and Solutions Insights Lab (SIL), and has led projects across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Before moving into training and advisory work, she spent over a decade in senior roles at the Dutch national public broadcaster, specialising in radio, digital media, and innovation. Breimer is Dutch with Frisian roots, and she divides her time between Europe and Southeast Asia.
Sara GomezSpeaker | Independent | Colombia
Sara Gómez is a Colombian American storyteller with more than 20 years’ experience in global health. She supports changemakers in challenging stigma and inequity through ethical storytelling that fosters empathy, understanding, and trust. Gómez has collaborated with organisations across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States, including Save the Children and the World Health Organization. Her work focuses on shifting power in health narratives by centering lived experience and the perspectives of historically marginalised communities. She is passionate about creative, participatory approaches that interrupt dominant narratives, move beyond token representation, and advance health equity.
Chibuike AlagbosoSpeaker | Nigeria Health Watch | Nigeria
Chibuike Alagboso is a health journalist at Nigeria Health Watch, a health communication and advocacy organisation based in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. His writing focuses on efforts that tackle public health challenges in Nigeria.