On October 28th, 2017 in San Francisco, Lausanne was chosen to host the 11th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ), which will take place from in July 2019 at the SwissTech Convention Center on the campus of the EPFL / UNIL. This meeting, which takes place every two years, attracts more than a thousand journalists and science communicators from more than 60 countries. The Bertarelli Foundation was proud to officially back the successful bid.
In winning over the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Science Journalists, which oversees the event, the winning bid will see the WCSJ return to Europe after events in the US (San Francisco, 2017) and South Korea (Seoul, 2015). The Swiss – or Alpine bid – was launched by the Swiss Association for Science Journalism (ASJS), soon joined by its sister organisations in France (AJSPI) and Italy (SWIM). The theme and motto for the 2019 meeting will be “Reaching new heights in science journalism” and the conference will use the mountains as a symbol and common thread.
Following the news of the win, the Bertarelli Foundation is pleased to confirm that it will be the main sponsor of the 2019 meeting. Ernesto Bertarelli says:
“Congratulations to the Alpine team on their success! This is another demonstration of the Lake Geneva region’s global standing in science, technology and engineering. I am proud through the Bertarelli Foundation to support this showcase of Swiss innovation, which will also share global knowledge and experience in science with our partners from all over the world.”
“We are very honored that Lausanne has been chosen to host this important event. We presented the project of a conference organized by and for science journalists, to defend, present and promote quality independent journalism in the media worldwide. An aspect that has helped us to win,”
said Olivier Dessibourg, president of the ASJS.
The Lausanne candidacy was able to benefit, from the beginning, from the support of four major academic partners: EPFL, CERN, and the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva. In addition to scientific and academic support, the Lausanne candidacy has also been able to rely on important levers in Swiss political, media and economic circles (State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, Presence Switzerland, City of Lausanne, Canton of Vaud), but also within the whole of Europe, notably through the European Commission, or institutions such as the Euronews channel, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) or the European Union. radio-telecommunications (EBU).
The Bertarelli Foundation would like to send their many congratulations to everyone involved in the Alpine team in putting together such an impressive bid.