Tag Archives: South Africa Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) 2025 in South Africa: registration opens

Leave a reply

The last World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) was held in Medellin, Columbia in 2023 as per my March 30, 2023 posting. This year South Africa is the host, the conference theme is “Science journalism and social justice: journalism that builds understanding and resilience,” and registration is now open as announced in a September 3, 2025 World Conference of Science Journalists 2025,

Registration for the World Conference of Science Journalists 2025 (WCSJ2025), due to take place 1-5 December [2025] at the CSIR [Council for Scientific and Industrial Research] International Convention Centre in Pretoria, is now open.

This is an unmissable event for science journalists, science communicators and scientists wanting to publicise their work. The international biennial conference is taking place for the first time ever on African soil and presents a unique opportunity for everyone interested in communicating science to hone their craft, to network with their peers, and to find stories about groundbreaking African science.

The overarching theme is “Science journalism and social justice: journalism that builds understanding and resilience”. The programme is wide-ranging and includes discussions and practical workshops covering wellbeing for people and the planet; the state of the profession; the art of communication; and misinformation, disinformation and fake news.

A small sample of some of the sessions on the programme includes:

Bringing social justice into ocean science reporting

The world’s oceans are facing grave threats from climate change, overfishing, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Emerging industries such as deep-sea mining and marine geoengineering are adding further pressure. As well as ensuring that reporting on these topics is scientifically accurate, journalists must ensure that the voices of those most impacted are included. Journalists on this panel are from Australia, South Africa, India and the USA.

When industry endangers health and ecosystems

Can science journalism fight environmental injustice? In this session, learn how journalists safely expose polluters, turn data into evidence, and amplify marginalised voices. Through real cases and tools, the panellists will show how media can drive policy change and reduce pollution inequalities.

AI – Friend or Foe?

Artificial Intelligence is transforming journalism – supercharging investigations while enabling sophisticated deepfakes and automated disinformation that challenge both newsroom survival and editorial integrity. This session examines how journalists are fighting back, turning AI’s analytical power against digital manipulation and disinformation networks while maintaining trust in an era where seeing is no longer believing.

Reporting under fire: science journalism in conflict zones and authoritarian regimes

This session offers strategies for resilience and highlights the role of journalism in defending scientific truth and social justice. In regions where war, political repression, or disaster intersect with scientific misinformation, science journalists face grave risks. This session explores how journalists from Yemen, Lebanon and Nigeria confront censorship, security threats, and digital suppression to still report on public health, climate, and tech stories.

Challenging times: Communicating about climate change when politics promotes denial and misinformation

The World Meteorological Organization confirmed 2024 as the warmest year on record, yet a cocktail of fake news, narratives without evidence, and economic interests are promoting climate change denialism. What role has science journalism to play in countering this trend and dismantling such narratives?

Telling the stories of astronomy in Africa

Africa has become a key player in global astronomy, with South Africa hosting the largest share of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), as well as the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and other projects. This session explores the major strides made since the early days of optical astronomy in South Africa, and what it means for international science reporting. Speakers will examine the challenges of covering “big science” projects, the politics of funding, and how to make cosmic research accessible to broad audiences.

Register now! https://www.wcsj2025.org/registration/

Registration rates are listed in South African Rands (ZAR) and the early bird (until September 30, 2025) registration fee is 6500ZAR or (approximately) $505.47CAD as of Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 10 am PT. The registration page hosts a handy link to a currency exchange rate tool allowing to check the various fees for participants and add on fees.

Organizers have included a Grants webpage,

TRAVEL GRANTS

Applications for travel grants to attend WCSJ 2025 will be invited from journalists who have a proven track record of producing high-quality, accurate, and engaging science journalism.

To be kept informed on the upcoming call for travel grant applications, please ensure you are subscribed to our mailing list and / or follow us on our social media platforms (links in footer).

I did not see any social media platforms listed in the footer but perhaps those will be added later.

This looks it will be an exciting conference. Bon Voyage! And, good luck if you are applying for a travel grant.

South Africa, energy, and nanotechnology

Leave a reply

South African academics Nosipho Moloto, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand and Siyabonga P. Ngubane, Lecturer in Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand have written a Feb. 17, 2016 article for The Conversation (also available on the South African Broadcasting Corporation website) about South Africa’s energy needs and its nanotechnology efforts (Note: Links have been removed),

Energy is an economic driver of both developed and developing countries. South Africa over the past few years has faced an energy crisis with rolling blackouts between 2008 and 2015. Part of the problem has been attributed to mismanagement by the state-owned utility company Eskom, particularly the shortcomings of maintenance plans on several plants.

But South Africa has two things going for it that could help it out of its current crisis. By developing a strong nanotechnology capability and applying this to its rich mineral reserves the country is well-placed to develop new energy technologies.

…

Nanotechnology has already shown that it has the potential to alleviate energy problems. …

It can also yield materials with new properties and the miniaturisation of devices. For example, since the discovery of graphene, a single atomic layer of graphite, several applications in biological engineering, electronics and composite materials have been identified. These include economic and efficient devices like solar cells and lithium ion secondary batteries.

Nanotechnology has seen an incredible increase in commercialisation. Nearly 10,000 patents have been filed by large corporations since its beginning in 1991. There are already a number of nanotechnology products and solutions on the market. Examples include Miller’s beer bottling composites, Armor’s N-Force line bulletproof vests and printed solar cells produced by Nanosolar – as well as Samsung’s nanotechnology television.

The advent of nanotechnology in South Africa began with the South African Nanotechnology Initiative in 2002. This was followed by the a [sic] national nanotechnology strategy in 2003.

The government has spent more than R450 million [Rand] in nanotechnology and nanosciences research since 2006. For example, two national innovation centres have been set up and funding has been made available for equipment. There has also been flagship funding.

The country could be globally competitive in this field due to the infancy of the technology. As such, there are plenty of opportunities to make novel discoveries in South Africa.

Mineral wealth

There is another major advantage South Africa has that could help diversify its energy supply. It has an abundance of mineral wealth with an estimated value of US$2.5 trillion. The country has the world’s largest reserves of manganese and platinum group metals. It also has massive reserves of gold, diamonds, chromite ore and vanadium.

Through beneficiation and nanotechnology these resources could be used to cater for the development of new energy technologies. Research in beneficiation of minerals for energy applications is gaining momentum. For example, Anglo American and the Department of Science and Technology have embarked on a partnership to convert hydrogen into electricity.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial research also aims to develop low cost lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors using locally mined manganese and titanium ores. There is collaborative researchto use minerals like gold to synthesize nanomaterials for application in photovoltaics.

…

The current photovoltaic market relies on importing solar cells or panels from Europe, Asia and the US for local assembly to produce arrays. South African UV index is one of the highest in the world which reduces the lifespan of solar panels. The key to a thriving and profitable photovoltaic sector therefore lies in local production and research and development to support the sector.

It’s worth reading the article in its entirety if you’re interested in a perspective on South Africa’s energy and nanotechnology efforts.