A WCSJ that has me wanting to come back for more

I am fortunate to be taking part in the 11th World Conference of Science Journalists, WCSJ2019, which kicked off on Monday 1 July 2019 in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland. After this, I feel I cannot miss future ones.

WCSJ2019 attracted about 1200 researchers, business leaders, policymakers, science communicators, and journalists from all over to the SwissTech Convention Centre, STCC, at the L’Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL. At the extravagant opening session of the conference, officials from the European Commission, along with Swiss and French government Ministers, underlined the critical role of science journalists in society today.

President of the World Federation of Science Journalists, Mohammed Yahia, also pointed out that the Federation has 61 member associations in 50 countries, representing more than 10 000 science journalists.

I was really thrilled with the high-level presentation entitled “The Moon and beyond: where will we be in 50 years in space exploration?” on the second day of the conference. It involved very eminent presenters -Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate administrator of NASA, Wu Ji, Former director of China's National Space Science Center, Anatoly Petrukovich, Director of Russia's Space Research Institute, David Parker, Head of human spaceflight at ESA and Lori Garver, Chief Executive Officer of Earthrise. The session was moderated by UK TV Host and author, Sarah Cruddas.

The conference’s scientific exhibition showcased various technological solutions, equipment and research findings in the beautiful garden level of STCC, and the presentations by veteran editors and news room managers from popular world-class media outlets were also very inspirational for conference participants.

They served as an excellent mode of experience sharing. In conclusion: I cannot miss future editions of WCSJ!

Opinions expressed in the blog posts are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of WCSJ2019