Last month, EUSJA delegates gathered in the Czech city of Brno for the EUSJA General Assembly. Peter Knoll from TELI (Germany) collects some thoughts.
Brno, Czech Republic – A spirit of optimism prevailed at this year’s General Assembly of the European Union of Science Journalists’ Associations (EUSJA), held from March 26 to March 29, 2026, in Brno, Czech Republic.
Fintan Burke, who was newly elected as EUSJA President at the end of 2025, presented the first results achieved within just a few weeks by the new four-member Executive Board, which includes TELI member Dino Trescher: The website relaunch was completed, social media activities—such as the organisation’s own LinkedIn group—were relaunched.
And the first events were successfully held, including three high-profile webinars in January and February 2026 alone, and much more.
The delegates present from twelve of the current 15 member countries (the Balkan states will soon join EUSJA, whereas Russia’s membership is currently suspended due to the war in Ukraine) acknowledged this track record with strong applause.
Fintan Burke also expressed openness to close cross-organisational cooperation with other journalism organisations, a desire shared by the delegates.
After touring the Mendel Museum, the delegates celebrated the 55th anniversary of the EUSJA and exchanged old documents and memories and enjoyed the musical performances by the museum director, dressed as a nun, and Italy’s Bartolomeo Buscema.
Intensive Efforts to Recruit New Members
They also shared the view that a key focus of every EUSJA General Assembly should be and is the exchange of experiences. Most science and technology journalism associations continue to face challenges in attracting younger members.
Some associations have found success with the following approaches:
- Mentoring programs
- Reaching out directly to potential members and extending personal invitations to events
- Events, such as the selection of Science Journalist of the Year or Best Technology Communication of the Year
- Summer camps and specialised trade shows featuring expert presentations
- Low membership fees for students and young professionals
Swedish delegate Cecilia Odlind, a science journalist, reported on an interesting development in Sweden: Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in science journalism has risen significantly, so that the significant expansion of the relevant departments also makes economic sense.
Closer cooperation with the European Union
In addition to strengthening internal and external communication, the EUSJA leadership has prioritised closer cooperation with EU bodies. For example, EUSJA Vice President Cinzia Boschiero is collaborating with the European Network for Women in Leadership (WIL Europe) and the European Network for the Promotion of Women in Leadership Positions to collect data on women in science. A webinar, scheduled to take place before the end of 2026, will address the requirements of the “Horizon Europe” gender equality plan for the awarding of grants.
In order to participate in EU-funded projects, EUSJA is in contact with partners, including “Creative Europe” and a project organised by ISGlobal called “Horizon Europe,” in which EUSJA may participate as a third partner.
The “European Citizen Science” project is developing an online course for libraries to introduce them to citizen science. Citizen science refers to research projects that interested members of the public either carry out entirely on their own or contribute to. EUSJA will support this course in 2026 and 2027.
The EUSJA strongly urges EU authorities to provide financial support to science journalists for fact-checking. The EUSJA manifesto is available online. It is to be presented to Members of the European Parliament later this year. Members are encouraged to share it widely.
Exciting Side Program
The EUSJA General Assembly was accompanied by a high-quality supporting program, once again organised by Marina Hofmanová (Hužvárová), editor-in-chief of the Mediažurnál (quarterly of the Czech Journalists Syndicate). For the first time, she was assisted by Pavel Farkas, a science journalist from Prague—with active support from the local journalists’ organisation Syndikát Novináru Jizní Moravy.
The EUSJA delegates toured the BRNO Water Tanks, a water storage system that operated until 1997, visited CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology) at the Brno University of Technology and exchanged ideas directly with researchers from the Institute of Scientific Instruments Czech.
Other stops on the educational trip included the Mendel Museum and a tour of Villa Tugendhat, which is considered one of the most important landmarks of modern architecture.
A Desire for More
According to the EUSJA Executive Board and the delegates present, there should be significantly more of these opportunities in the future. The unanimous view is that educational trips to scientifically important institutions and direct engagement with the scientific community are among EUSJA’s core competencies—and are more important than ever given the current upheavals in global politics.
Text & photos: Peter Knoll