Tag: ESOF

  • What will power Europe’s future?

    EUSJA session at ESOF 2012 in Dublin, Ireland:

    Date: July 15
    Time: 13:15 – 14:45
    Place: Wicklow Hall 2B, ESOF venue
    Link: http://x.co/laN0

    Please put this event into your ESOF schedule: http://esof2012.sched.org/login

    The catastrophic failure of the Japanese power plant in Fukushima has divided Europe over the future use of nuclear energy. In almost every country, there have been calls to reassess the risks and benefits of nuclear power and to slow down the construction of new power plants.

    The European debate raises some critical, and difficult, questions. This workshop will explore the societal, cultural and journalistic concerns. It will look at science journalism coverage of the tensions between science/technology, economical constraints and political purposes using the example of nuclear power and energy in general.

    Debaters will trigger an audience discussion about old and new roles for science journalism in democratic processes using the example of nuclear power and energy in general. A final summary may eventually lead to an action plan for a new role for science journalists in societal, scientific and political debates.

    President Barbie Drillsma will moderate the session. Speakers are

    • Mariko Takahashi (Asahi Shimbun, Japan)
    • Wolfgang Goede (P.M./Knowledge Matters magazine, Germany; EUSJA Honorary Secretary)
    • Edward Sykes (Science Media Centre, London, UK)

    As debaters we have

    • Fumio Arakawa (Global Engineering Institute, Japan)
    • Viola Egikova (Moskowskaya Pravda, Russia; EUSJA Vice President)
    • James Cornell (International Science Writers Association, USA)

    Producer/organiser:

    • Hanns-J. Neubert hajo@eusja.org

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  • Invitation from ISTJA to ESOF 2012 Study Tour 11-15 July

    Invitation from ISTJA to ESOF 2012 Study Tour 11-15 July

    From Cormac Sheridan and Anna Nolan

    Dublin is Europe’s City of Science for 2012 and the venue for the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF), Europe’s premier scientific meeting, which runs from 11-15 July. The five-day conference will hear contributions from leading European and global scientists, commentators and critics, including five Nobel laureates, on the present state and future directions of science in all its guises. No other event and no other place will offer such a concentration of scientists and science stories in Europe this year.

    The line-up includes Nobel Laureates Jules Hoffmann, Peter Doherty, Rajendra Pachauri, Torsten Wiesel, and James Watson; former Irish president and former UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson; Boomtown Rats frontman and global anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof; as well as a string of prominent scientists, entrepreneurs, communicators and leaders, including Craig Venter, Rolf Dieter-Heuer,

    Huanming Yang, Brian Greene, Kári Stefánsson, Helga Nowotny, Lisa Randall, Luke O’Neill, Lars Steinmetz, Marcus du Sautoy, Pam Ronald, Alexander von Gabain and EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation & Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.

    The Irish Science & Technology Journalists Association (ISTJA), with support from ESOF 2012, will host an EUSJA Study Tour to coincide with ESOF 2012. The tour programme simply comprises the conference programme with an additional policy briefing session for tour participants on ‘Science in Austerity – Ireland’s response to the economic crisis’. In addition, ISTJA and Alchemist Café Dublin are jointly organising a series of science café events, which take the form of early evening gatherings at which conference speakers will discuss science-related issues in a more informal setting.

    Up to 25 places are available to working journalists who are covering the conference, under the usual EUSJA study tour rules. Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses and arrangements. We will take care of accommodation (four nights, arriving 11 July, departing 15 July) and meals.

    Participants must be eligible for media accreditation under the ESOF 2012 rules and are responsible for obtaining this accreditation themselves – we cannot do this on their behalf. (Further information on media accreditation).

    Journalists who are already travelling to ESOF 2012 under an ESOF 2012 travel bursary are not eligible for this trip. We are trying to maximise the opportunity to attend the event for as many journalists as possible.

    Until Friday 15 June one place on this Study Trip will be reserved for each country. If there are two or more applications from a country, ISTJA will put the extra name(s) on a waiting list. On 15 June, any places not taken up will be allocated to other countries, strictly in order of receipt of their applications.

    Please do not apply directly to ISTJA. As is usual with EUSJA visits, all applications must be sent through your national delegate.

    We need the following information for each applicant, please: the country and name of the association, together with the name, address, phone & mobile number, and email address of the applicant.

    Further information:

    Cormac Sheridan – e-mail: csheridan65(at)gmail.com>

    Anna Nolan – e-mail: anolan(at)iol.ie

  • EUSJA-sessions at the upcoming ESOF in Dublin

    The Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) is Europe’s largest general science meeting and is held in a leading European city every two years. It is an interdisciplinary, pan-European meeting, held under the auspices of Euroscience, and the first meeting was held in Stockholm in 2004, followed by Munich (2006), Barcelona (2008) and Turin (2010).

    Dublin was awarded the honour of hosting ESOF in 2012, following an open competition. Copenhagen will host then event in 2014. This year, EUSJA board-members will be hosting two sessions:

    IS SCIENCE JOURNALISM DEAD OR DOES IT JUST SMELL FUNNY?
    Speakers Brian Trench, Nadia El-Awady, Wolfgang Goede, Elisabetta Tola, Martin Robbins

    This round table debate on the current standing of science journalism includes a panel of experienced journalists, some with decades of specialist involvement in science journalism, and all with strong views and concerns on science journalism. Among the issues affecting the health of science journalism to be considered in this debate are:

    • Increasing direct communication to the public by scientific bodies that is tending to reduce the need for journalist intermediaries
    • Proliferation and diversification of internet news and commentary blurring the distinctions between professional, independent reporting and amateur and partisan coverage
    • Growing perception that the routines of established science journalism are worn-out and that science reporting is too vulnerable to claims of ‘breakthrough’ and ‘world-first’
    • Reduction in specialist staff science journalists due to financial pressures on many media and the restructuring of employment as largely casual, desk-bound and generalist
    • Increasing exposure of generalist journalists to topics with important scientific dimensions (e.g. epidemics, pandemics, ash clouds, extreme weather, water stress)

    WHAT WILL POWER EUROPE’S FUTURE?
    Speakers Wolfgang Goede, Hanns-Joachim Neubert, Mariko Takahashi, Denis Delbecq, Barbara Drillsma

    The catastrophic failure of the Japanese power plant in Fukushima has divided Europe over the future use of nuclear energy. In almost every country, there have been calls to reassess the risks and benefits of nuclear power and to slow down the construction of new power plants.

    The European debate raises some critical – and difficult – questions. This workshop will explore the societal, cultural and journalistic concerns. It will look at science journalism coverage of the tensions between science/technology, economical constraints and political purposes using the example of nuclear power and energy in general.

    Debaters will trigger an audience discussion about old and new roles for science journalism in democratic processes using the example of nuclear power and energy in general. A final summary may eventually lead to an action plan for a new role for science journalists in societal, scientific and political debates.

  • Travel grants to attend ESOF2012 in Dublin

    Travel grants to attend ESOF2012
    Dublin, 11th-15th July 2012

    PRESENTATION AND CONDITIONS FOR TRAVEL GRANTS

    1. Purpose

    Created by Euroscience, ESOF – Euroscience Open Forum – is the biennial pan-European meeting dedicated to scientific research and innovation. At ESOF meetings leading scientists, researchers, young researchers, journalists, business people, entrepreneurs and innovators, policy makers, science and technology communicators and the general public from all over the world discuss new discoveries and debate the direction that research is taking in the sciences, humanities and social sciences.

    Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a publisher of high impact scientific and medical information in print and online. NPG publishes journals, online databases, and services across the life, physical, chemical and applied sciences and clinical medicine.

    NPG has supported ESOF since its very first edition in 2004. Once again, NPG has generously offered to support ESOF by funding travel grants for journalists to attend ESOF2012 in order to increase the impact of ESOF.

    2. Who can apply?

    — Journalists irrespective of their nationalities and of their media (paper, radio, TV, web). Media accreditation will be required.

    3. Application

    To submit an application, please follow the link to http://www.esof.eu/hub/user_session/new
    Sign into the ESOF database and click on “Apply for a Scholarship” at the bottom of your profile page. Follow the application procedure.

    On submitting the application form for travel grants, you agree to the full acceptance of the rules and to the decision taken by the Selection Committee.

    The deadline for submitting an application is the 31st January 2012, 12:00 GMT.

    4. Selection Committee and decision

    The Selection Committee is:
    • Philip Campbell, (Editor at Nature Publishing Group)
    • Gail Cardew, (Chair of the ESOF Supervisory Board)
    • Ruth Francis, (Head of Press at Nature Publishing Group)
    • Carl Johan Sundberg, (Euroscience Vice-President)

    The eligibility criteria will mainly be based on the CV assessment and the applicant’s motivation statement in attending ESOF2012.

    An email of decision will be sent to all candidates stating whether or not their application has been selected and whether they have secured a grant. (February 2012)

    4. Obligations of grantees

    • Journalists must confirm by email to esof@euroscience.org that they accept the travel grant.
    • At ESOF2012, the ESOF Hub will arrange two meetings with the selected journalists so as to promote contact among themselves and contact with the ESOF Hub. Journalists selected will be expected to attend these meetings.
    • Journalists selected will be asked to provide post-ESOF2012 a proof of published article and failing that they will be asked to provide a written account of their travel for posting on the ESOF website.
    • The expenses will be reimbursed by the ESOF Hub post-ESOF2012 on presentation of receipts up to a maximum total of 750 euros.
    • The journalists selected will be asked for feedback following ESOF2012 in order to evaluate the success of the scheme.

    6. Information

    For any further information, please contact the ESOF Hub at esof@euroscience.org

    Dr. Kitson-Pantano,
    Euroscience Open Forum
    Programme Director.
    www.esof.eu