About us
EUSJA represents around 2 500 science journalists from 18 European countries. These include member associations in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The main goals of EUSJA are to improve communication between the international scientific community and society, and to promote contacts between journalists in the field of scientific and technical communication.
We work with our member associations to organise international study trips, workshops and debates in their countries for Europe’s science journalists. EUSJA has also been involved in EU-funded projects to provide them with a journalistic perspective, media training, and workshops.
EUSJA also organises conferences for science journalists in Europe, where professionals can meet, debate and share experiences.
You can view the most recent EUSJA Constitution (2018, PDF, 673KB)
EUSJA is registered in France as an Entreprise Sociale et Solidaire (under ‘voluntary membership organisation’) with the registration ID 808334478
History
EUSJA was founded in 1971 in Belgium by seven national associations of science journalists. During those years there was little contact with science journalist associations in the eastern part of Europe, though there were some personal links thanks to the relative openness of the Hungarian and Austrian systems.
After the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989, there was an upsurge of interest from Eastern European countries that now play an active role in EUSJA’s activities.
EUSJA grew from having 15 members in 1990 to 20 members by 2000. During this time, EUSJA also played a role in creating the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ); a meeting at the 1999 World Conference on Science led to the Budapest Declaration, which led to the WFSJ’s formal launch in 2002.
In 2006 EUSJA celebrated its 35th anniversary with the publication of The Barriers Are Down: EUSJA Advances Across Europe, a collection of science journalism essays by Barbara Drillsma and others.
In recent years, other barriers for science journalists have been raised. Publications have reduced employed science journalists throughout Europe, online misinformation and disinformation have clouded public perception of science, and sustainable funding for quality journalism is a constant concern. EUSJA believes in working across borders with all of Europe’s science journalists to overcome these challenges together.