Programme ECSJ 2022
Here we proudly present our programme for ECSJ 2022, with focus on the theme Investigating Science.
For a quick overview of all sessions and locations in PDF click here.
- Tuesday 12 July 2022
- Wednesday 13 July 2022
- Full programme at a glance
- B041
- B017
- C006 - Mandela Room
- restaurant terrace (1st floor)
- Cleveringa Auditorium
- Rijksmuseum Boerhaave
Do you enjoy the Sun? It’s hot, it’s bright and it is responsible for beautiful summer sunsets.
On closer look our star has a lot more to offer than sunbathing. At the ECSJ Roel van der Heijden (freelance science journalist) will bring his self-built telescope to investigate our closest star (weather permitting). Maybe we’ll be able to see some sunspots on the surface of the Sun, and Roel will be happy to explain how he made his telescope and how he now uses it for astronomy outreach in his living room planetarium, the ‘Huiskamerplanetarium’ (www.huiskamerplanetarium.nl).
After two days of field trips and getting to know each other, it is time to open the official European Conference of Science Journalism Leiden 2022. Or: #ECSJ2022
Host Desiree Hoving opens the conference, welcoming words by Krijn Soeteman (president EFSJ) and Anne van Kessel (president Dutch association VWN).
Science integrity will always remain a work in progress. While peer-review is a necessary first step in safeguarding the quality and integrity of scientific research, the system has been proven to be far from perfect. Elisabeth Bik has pioneered a ‘forensic’ approach to quality control, by painstakingly checking images, mainly in biomedical publications, for duplications and other unacceptable ways of manipulation. She has identified hundreds of papers with serious flaws, resulting in many retractions.
Her criticism of high-profile researchers like Didier Raoult – who claimed hydroxychloroquine cured covid-19 – has made her the target of lawsuit threats and vicious personal attacks on social media. However, she has no intention of backing down in her quest to improve science integrity.
Glen Smith introduces Starmus, the mission to inspire and educate a new generation of space explorers and astronomers. The next Starmus Festival will be in September, in Armenia.
This session will address the role of the media in discussing the issues related to the so-called “reproducibility crisis” in a constructive way. Panellists will present several critical aspects of this complex issue, and will reflect with the audience on the role that science journalists can have in helping citizens to notice not only the noise of the “falling trees” (the scandals involving lack of integrity and bad methodology) but also the much fainter noise of the growing “forest” of initiatives that are trying to fix the current system of incentives/disincentives that does not value reproducibility studies and instead often leaves room for rushed, hyped, unreliable research.
Speakers
Laura Fortunato (University of Oxford)
Anne Scheel (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, CWTS Leiden)
Ewout Steyenberg (Leiden University Medical Center)
Discussion lead by Fabio Turone (Centre for Ethics in Science and Journalism).
Incorrect reports about (scientific) research are regularly reported in the media. Factchecking organizations, such as the Dutch Nieuwscheckers, are engaged in correcting such erroneous reports. How is it possible that such incorrect reports appear in the media? What are common mistakes made by journalists when they report on research? Using a series of examples Alexander Pleijter will show where things go wrong. And he will demonstrate how fact checkers go about checking reports on research.
Speaker
Alexander Pleijter (Leiden University, Nieuwscheckers)
Hardly a day goes by without reading in the media: ‘Y causes X deaths per year’, where Y can be air pollution, drinking or even noise. Science journalist Arnout Jaspers will show what is fundamentally wrong with this way of quantifying diffuse health effects on a population. There are better alternatives but even major organisations like the WHO ignore this and keep reporting meaningless death counts.
Speaker
Arnout Jaspers (independent science journalist)
Science journalist Olga Dobrovidova will give a short talk about the state of Russian language science journalism. After that, she and several Russian colleagues will further discuss the present situation. Other participants are welcome to join in on this informal event and share their views.
Lunch is served in the restaurant on the second floor. While you’re there, you can head to the terrace and gaze at the sun with street astronomer Roel van der Heijden. You can find him and his self-built telescope on the terrace throughout the day.
The Dutch research landscape.
The Dutch research universities are known for their high quality education and research. During this lunch session you will learn more about the strength of the Dutch universities, the main research areas and the preconditions for successful science in the Netherlands. You can ask Jacob anything about the Dutch research landscape.
Speaker
Jacob Olij (Association of Universities of The Netherlands)
By our partner Universities of the Netherlands.
Journalists play an essential role in bringing new scientific discoveries to the public. It is essential that they have a thorough understanding of how critical research has been designed, conducted and published, asking probing questions like: has sex and gender been integrated in this research? Are there cultural blindspots in this work? Do we have data on research output by gender, race or ethnicity?
As universities, funders and scientific publishers work to create a more inclusive research ecosystem, science journalists must keep pace with key issues around representation, intersectionality, bias and methodology to gain a deeper understanding of them as contributors to quality, the intellectual potential of research, the scientific talent pool and most importantly, societal impact.
This session will explore key issues and perspectives on gender and intersectionality, to equip and challenge science journalists as they interact with and report on the research.
This session is co-organized with Elsevier.
Speakers
Elizabeth Pollitzer (Portia Ltd.)
Adam Travis (Logitech)
Ilaria Cianchetta (Chem Catalysis)
Asha ten Broeke (independent writer and journalist)
Moderator
Rebecca Clear (Elsevier)
The journalism collective Bellingcat, founded by Eliot Higgins in 2014, pioneered online fact checking and open source intelligence (OSINT) methods to document, among others, the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17, the Skripal Poisoning, and weapons and war crimes in several wars, including the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Instructors Youri van der Weide and Annique Mossou will deliver a 2 hour workshop detailing verification principles (verification and analysis of user generated content, such as photos and videos from social networks), maps and satellite services, and advanced OSINT search techniques.
Attention: bring your laptop. Attendance for actively participating journalists is limited to 30, workshop vouchers will be distributed on site during registration.
Instructors
Youri van der Weide (Bellingcat)
Annique Mossou (Bellingcat)
Mostly, a science reporter zooms in on topics that are socially relevant but can be approached from a safe and comfortable distance. But a pandemic is not distant for any science reporter: we’ve all been in the middle of it. How can a science reporter work in an engaged and neutral way during such a crisis? And how desirable is it to be as neutral as possible when there is so much at stake and the science and its implications have become so value laden and political?
Speakers
Lise Barnéoud (Le Monde)
Heidi Ledford (Nature)
Kai Kupferschmidt (Science)
Sergio Pistoi (Scientific American and Reuters)
Moderator
Jop de Vrieze (independent science journalist)
Science journalism sometimes is criticised because it contains exaggerations about the potential of specific research results. This can happen, for example, when journalistic coverage states or implies that a drug that works in animals will also work in humans before this is tested, or when unsound science is covered without information about its limitations. Journalists, press officers at universities and publishers, and researchers often point to each other as the culprit. In what has been dubbed the ‘cycle of hype’, all parties involved have their own motives for communicating about science that go beyond simply informing the public (e.g. profit or visibility).
In this session, three researchers will discuss their perspectives and study findings about science journalism, highlighting the complexities of the (international) circulation of science news and shedding more light on pitfalls and their solutions. In the second part of the session, there will be a joint discussion between the audience and the speakers, gaining insights from all three parties involved (researchers, journalists, and press officers) to feed future research and promote better science coverage in the media.
Speakers
Elisa Nelissen (KU Leuven)
Sofie Verkest (Gent University)
Anne Dijkstra (University Twente)
Moderator
Annemarie Kerkhoff (Auris, science writer)
Is Global South science under-reported? All too often, in the ‘Global North’, we only hear about crises happening in lower income countries, rather than coverage of the critical research being undertaken by scientists in areas that are most relevant to them. Which fields in particular are under-reported, how, and why? How does the research ecosystem and its biases play a role in this?
In this session we will explore the assumptions of, and challenges faced by, journalists from both the North and South, and possible responses.
Speakers
Ylann Schemm (Elsevier Foundation)
Ashani Ranathunga (University of Leeds)
Ochieng Ogodo (independent science journalist)
Fiona Broom (SciDev.Net)
Moderator
Rebecca Clear (Elsevier)
Meduza is an independent Russian language news website based in Latvia, founded in 2014 by Galina Timchenko and other former employees of the Russian website Lenta.ru, after Timchenko had been fired.
The site has been designated as a foreign agent, and blocked on Russian territory after critical coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian war of February 2022.
A member of the Meduza.io team will show how science journalism can be an aid for war reporting. The team used chronolocation to identify murders of civilians in Bucha by Russian forces.
Speaker
to be announced
When reporting about climate science, should we use ‘global warming’ or ‘climate change’’? Or should we say ‘climate disruption’ or ‘climate breakdown’ instead of ‘climate change’? To what extent should journalists keep their distance from the politicised front line of climate science and its interpretations?
The speakers will debate this issue with each other, and with the audience.
Speakers
Maarten Keulemans (Volkskrant)
Bart Verheggen (Amsterdam University College)
Jacopo Pasotti (independent science and environment writer)
Moderator
Desiree Hoving
During this final session we get together in the large auditorium for a ‘The State of Science Journalism’ speech by Science’s International news editor Martin Enserink.Then, we wrap up this conference day in a fun and (inter)active way led by quiz master Lucas Keijning.
Next, there’s time to rest or do some sightseeing in Leiden. In the evening we hope to see you all for the Grand closure with drinks and bites at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave!
After a full conference day and field trips, it’s time to contemplate together with your science journalist colleagues. The closing drinks & bites will be hosted in the beautiful science museum Boerhaave, which harbours an amazing collection of ancient and modern artefacts that contributed to the advancement of science, in the heart of one of the most beautiful Dutch cities.
The museum is hosting special tours during the evening.
The European Federation for Science Journalism will host two events
21.00 – the award ceremony for the European Science Journalist of the Year Award
21.15 – announcement of the laureates of the EFSJ Climate Grant (made possible by the EFSJ in partnership with BNP Paribas Foundation).
The European Science Journalist of the Year Award will be announced by the EFSJ.
Announcement of the laureates of the EFSJ Climate Grants.
The grant amount is a total of 12.000 euros. Depending on applications received, one to three projects may be awarded grants.
The grant is made possible by the EFSJ in partnership with BNP Paribas Foundation.
For more information, see:
Hardly a day goes by without reading in the media: ‘Y causes X deaths per year’, where Y can be air pollution, drinking or even noise. Science journalist Arnout Jaspers will show what is fundamentally wrong with this way of quantifying diffuse health effects on a population. There are better alternatives but even major organisations like the WHO ignore this and keep reporting meaningless death counts.
Speaker
Arnout Jaspers (independent science journalist)
Journalists play an essential role in bringing new scientific discoveries to the public. It is essential that they have a thorough understanding of how critical research has been designed, conducted and published, asking probing questions like: has sex and gender been integrated in this research? Are there cultural blindspots in this work? Do we have data on research output by gender, race or ethnicity?
As universities, funders and scientific publishers work to create a more inclusive research ecosystem, science journalists must keep pace with key issues around representation, intersectionality, bias and methodology to gain a deeper understanding of them as contributors to quality, the intellectual potential of research, the scientific talent pool and most importantly, societal impact.
This session will explore key issues and perspectives on gender and intersectionality, to equip and challenge science journalists as they interact with and report on the research.
This session is co-organized with Elsevier.
Speakers
Elizabeth Pollitzer (Portia Ltd.)
Adam Travis (Logitech)
Ilaria Cianchetta (Chem Catalysis)
Asha ten Broeke (independent writer and journalist)
Moderator
Rebecca Clear (Elsevier)
Is Global South science under-reported? All too often, in the ‘Global North’, we only hear about crises happening in lower income countries, rather than coverage of the critical research being undertaken by scientists in areas that are most relevant to them. Which fields in particular are under-reported, how, and why? How does the research ecosystem and its biases play a role in this?
In this session we will explore the assumptions of, and challenges faced by, journalists from both the North and South, and possible responses.
Speakers
Ylann Schemm (Elsevier Foundation)
Ashani Ranathunga (University of Leeds)
Ochieng Ogodo (independent science journalist)
Fiona Broom (SciDev.Net)
Moderator
Rebecca Clear (Elsevier)
This session will address the role of the media in discussing the issues related to the so-called “reproducibility crisis” in a constructive way. Panellists will present several critical aspects of this complex issue, and will reflect with the audience on the role that science journalists can have in helping citizens to notice not only the noise of the “falling trees” (the scandals involving lack of integrity and bad methodology) but also the much fainter noise of the growing “forest” of initiatives that are trying to fix the current system of incentives/disincentives that does not value reproducibility studies and instead often leaves room for rushed, hyped, unreliable research.
Speakers
Laura Fortunato (University of Oxford)
Anne Scheel (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, CWTS Leiden)
Ewout Steyenberg (Leiden University Medical Center)
Discussion lead by Fabio Turone (Centre for Ethics in Science and Journalism).
The journalism collective Bellingcat, founded by Eliot Higgins in 2014, pioneered online fact checking and open source intelligence (OSINT) methods to document, among others, the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17, the Skripal Poisoning, and weapons and war crimes in several wars, including the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Instructors Youri van der Weide and Annique Mossou will deliver a 2 hour workshop detailing verification principles (verification and analysis of user generated content, such as photos and videos from social networks), maps and satellite services, and advanced OSINT search techniques.
Attention: bring your laptop. Attendance for actively participating journalists is limited to 30, workshop vouchers will be distributed on site during registration.
Instructors
Youri van der Weide (Bellingcat)
Annique Mossou (Bellingcat)
Science journalist Olga Dobrovidova will give a short talk about the state of Russian language science journalism. After that, she and several Russian colleagues will further discuss the present situation. Other participants are welcome to join in on this informal event and share their views.
Mostly, a science reporter zooms in on topics that are socially relevant but can be approached from a safe and comfortable distance. But a pandemic is not distant for any science reporter: we’ve all been in the middle of it. How can a science reporter work in an engaged and neutral way during such a crisis? And how desirable is it to be as neutral as possible when there is so much at stake and the science and its implications have become so value laden and political?
Speakers
Lise Barnéoud (Le Monde)
Heidi Ledford (Nature)
Kai Kupferschmidt (Science)
Sergio Pistoi (Scientific American and Reuters)
Moderator
Jop de Vrieze (independent science journalist)
When reporting about climate science, should we use ‘global warming’ or ‘climate change’’? Or should we say ‘climate disruption’ or ‘climate breakdown’ instead of ‘climate change’? To what extent should journalists keep their distance from the politicised front line of climate science and its interpretations?
The speakers will debate this issue with each other, and with the audience.
Speakers
Maarten Keulemans (Volkskrant)
Bart Verheggen (Amsterdam University College)
Jacopo Pasotti (independent science and environment writer)
Moderator
Desiree Hoving
Do you enjoy the Sun? It’s hot, it’s bright and it is responsible for beautiful summer sunsets.
On closer look our star has a lot more to offer than sunbathing. At the ECSJ Roel van der Heijden (freelance science journalist) will bring his self-built telescope to investigate our closest star (weather permitting). Maybe we’ll be able to see some sunspots on the surface of the Sun, and Roel will be happy to explain how he made his telescope and how he now uses it for astronomy outreach in his living room planetarium, the ‘Huiskamerplanetarium’ (www.huiskamerplanetarium.nl).
After two days of field trips and getting to know each other, it is time to open the official European Conference of Science Journalism Leiden 2022. Or: #ECSJ2022
Host Desiree Hoving opens the conference, welcoming words by Krijn Soeteman (president EFSJ) and Anne van Kessel (president Dutch association VWN).
Science integrity will always remain a work in progress. While peer-review is a necessary first step in safeguarding the quality and integrity of scientific research, the system has been proven to be far from perfect. Elisabeth Bik has pioneered a ‘forensic’ approach to quality control, by painstakingly checking images, mainly in biomedical publications, for duplications and other unacceptable ways of manipulation. She has identified hundreds of papers with serious flaws, resulting in many retractions.
Her criticism of high-profile researchers like Didier Raoult – who claimed hydroxychloroquine cured covid-19 – has made her the target of lawsuit threats and vicious personal attacks on social media. However, she has no intention of backing down in her quest to improve science integrity.
Glen Smith introduces Starmus, the mission to inspire and educate a new generation of space explorers and astronomers. The next Starmus Festival will be in September, in Armenia.
Incorrect reports about (scientific) research are regularly reported in the media. Factchecking organizations, such as the Dutch Nieuwscheckers, are engaged in correcting such erroneous reports. How is it possible that such incorrect reports appear in the media? What are common mistakes made by journalists when they report on research? Using a series of examples Alexander Pleijter will show where things go wrong. And he will demonstrate how fact checkers go about checking reports on research.
Speaker
Alexander Pleijter (Leiden University, Nieuwscheckers)
The Dutch research landscape.
The Dutch research universities are known for their high quality education and research. During this lunch session you will learn more about the strength of the Dutch universities, the main research areas and the preconditions for successful science in the Netherlands. You can ask Jacob anything about the Dutch research landscape.
Speaker
Jacob Olij (Association of Universities of The Netherlands)
By our partner Universities of the Netherlands.
Science journalism sometimes is criticised because it contains exaggerations about the potential of specific research results. This can happen, for example, when journalistic coverage states or implies that a drug that works in animals will also work in humans before this is tested, or when unsound science is covered without information about its limitations. Journalists, press officers at universities and publishers, and researchers often point to each other as the culprit. In what has been dubbed the ‘cycle of hype’, all parties involved have their own motives for communicating about science that go beyond simply informing the public (e.g. profit or visibility).
In this session, three researchers will discuss their perspectives and study findings about science journalism, highlighting the complexities of the (international) circulation of science news and shedding more light on pitfalls and their solutions. In the second part of the session, there will be a joint discussion between the audience and the speakers, gaining insights from all three parties involved (researchers, journalists, and press officers) to feed future research and promote better science coverage in the media.
Speakers
Elisa Nelissen (KU Leuven)
Sofie Verkest (Gent University)
Anne Dijkstra (University Twente)
Moderator
Annemarie Kerkhoff (Auris, science writer)
Meduza is an independent Russian language news website based in Latvia, founded in 2014 by Galina Timchenko and other former employees of the Russian website Lenta.ru, after Timchenko had been fired.
The site has been designated as a foreign agent, and blocked on Russian territory after critical coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian war of February 2022.
A member of the Meduza.io team will show how science journalism can be an aid for war reporting. The team used chronolocation to identify murders of civilians in Bucha by Russian forces.
Speaker
to be announced
During this final session we get together in the large auditorium for a ‘The State of Science Journalism’ speech by Science’s International news editor Martin Enserink.Then, we wrap up this conference day in a fun and (inter)active way led by quiz master Lucas Keijning.
Next, there’s time to rest or do some sightseeing in Leiden. In the evening we hope to see you all for the Grand closure with drinks and bites at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave!
After a full conference day and field trips, it’s time to contemplate together with your science journalist colleagues. The closing drinks & bites will be hosted in the beautiful science museum Boerhaave, which harbours an amazing collection of ancient and modern artefacts that contributed to the advancement of science, in the heart of one of the most beautiful Dutch cities.
The museum is hosting special tours during the evening.
The European Federation for Science Journalism will host two events
21.00 – the award ceremony for the European Science Journalist of the Year Award
21.15 – announcement of the laureates of the EFSJ Climate Grant (made possible by the EFSJ in partnership with BNP Paribas Foundation).
The European Science Journalist of the Year Award will be announced by the EFSJ.
Announcement of the laureates of the EFSJ Climate Grants.
The grant amount is a total of 12.000 euros. Depending on applications received, one to three projects may be awarded grants.
The grant is made possible by the EFSJ in partnership with BNP Paribas Foundation.
For more information, see:
- C020 - Room 5
