Highlights of the 44th EUSJA General Assembly in Strasbourg on the weekend before Easter 2016: elections, assessment of European projects, strategy and forthcoming events, news from member organizations.
EUSJA has a new squad of leaders. At its 2016 annual assembly in Strasbourg at European Science Foundation ESF headquarters, some 20 delegates from throughout Europe elected a new executive board. Jens Degett, head of the Danish science journalists, is the new EUSJA president, Marina Huzvarova, Czech Science Journalists’ Club, vice president; Oliver Lehmann, Austrian Club of Science Journalists, fulfills the duties of the honorary secretary; Antonio Calvo Roy, Spanish Association of Science Journalists and Communicators, is in charge of the treasury.
Concert of 23 European members
The new EUSJA executives carry on the work of Satu Lipponen (former president, Finland), Viola Egikova (former vice president, Russia), Wolfgang C. Goede (former honorary secretary, Germany), Jens Degett (former treasurer, Denmark) and Priit Ennet (former co-opted board member, Estonia). The union is made up of 23 member organizations in Europe.
Study trips & EU projects
EUSJA’s general assembly, moderated by Kaianders Sempler, Sweden, discussed past achievements and future commitments of the union. 10 journalistic study trips with 130 participants were reported. The delegates expressed their warm thanks to Viola Egikova, organizer of many of these.
Under the presidency of Satu Lipponen, EUSJA professionalized its engagement in European projects connected to the European Commission and Horizon 2020, which promote scientific understanding, enlightenment and societal involvement. Ms. Lipponen was commended for her work to consolidate this cooperation and introduce high governance standards. Delegates awarded her the title EUSJA president emeritus.
Critical voices in science
Currently six projects are geared towards the promotion of journalistic views and the inclusion of critical voices in science. They provide employment to ten science journalists. A number of additional projects are under scrutiny. They are administrated by Johanne Martinez-Schmitt, EUSJA’s executive secretary, who operates out of ESF.
Cooperation EUSJA & ABSW
As an ESOF satellite event, EUSJA will co-sponsor with the Association of British Science Writers ABSW in July 2016 the 3rd European Conference for Science Journalists ECSJ in Manchester. For the 4th ECSJ in 2017, EUSJA’s new president Mr. Degett suggested Copenhagen as the venue. Apart from more profound professional enhancement, the delegates vowed to pursue the course of European integration, which is to include all European science journalists’ associations into EUSJA.
Science Media Center in Cologne
Member organizations reported on the first German sience media center in Cologne (German WPK: Martin Schneider), experiments with facebook associations (Kaianders Sempler, Sweden), ongoing science debates in Estonia around parliamentary elections (Priit Ennet). The new honorary secretary Mr. Lehmann extended an invitation to the renown Vienna Ball of Science in January 2017.
More pictures from the GA on EUSJA facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/117674594928808/