Cairo Bid

The Arab Science Journalists Association
In partnership with
The National Association of Science Writers (U.S.)
is happy to present this
Bid to host the
7th World Conference for Science Journalists
In Cairo, Egypt in 2011

Executive Summary:
The Arab Science Journalists Association (ASJA) has partnered with the National Association of Science
Writers (NASW) in a co-bid to host the 7th World Conference for Science Journalists (WCSJ7) in Cairo,
Egypt in 2011. This partnership stems from the twinning relationship forged between the two
associations in 2007 under the umbrella of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ).
ASJA and NASW believe Cairo, Egypt is an ideal location for the WCSJ7 due to the following reasons:
 Egypt lies both in the Arab world and in Africa and thus represents two very important regions
of the world. This would be the first time for the WCSJ to be held in either region.
 Cairo is readily accessible from anywhere in the world and lies midway between East and West.
 Prices in Egypt are relatively cheap. Participants will find a wide range of accommodations to
choose from that suit all tastes and budgets.
 Egypt combines both millenniums-worth of science history with a rich contemporary scientific
environment.
 Egypt boasts 18 government universities; 21 private universities, academies and learning

institutes; 26 protectorates; 48 museums; and thirteen research centers.
 Other countries in Africa and the Arab world are very easily accessible from Cairo and we
believe this conference could be an excellent opportunity for participating journalists to visit
science-related projects not only in Egypt but all over the region.
 Cairo is purported to be the cultural capital of the Arab world.
 Egypt’s science journalists form the largest mass of journalists working professionally in this field
in the entire Arab world. Egypt also has a long history in science journalism going back to the
18th century.
 Egypt contains a full one-third of the world’s antiquities and is a major tourism destination for
its rich Pharaonic, Coptic, and Islamic histories.
 Egypt lies on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The mainland together with the Sinai
Peninsula boast some of the world’s most popular sea resorts and the most well preserved coral
reefs in the world. The country’s geography ranges from Sahara desert, to the lush Nile valley
and delta, to desert oases, and the mountains of prophets in Sinai.
Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 1

The Arab Science Journalists Association officially registered in December 2006 as a network under the
umbrella of the Arab Science & Technology Foundation in the United Arab Emirates. Its founding
members, however, had been working on creating this network since 2003 and ASJA actually became a
member of the WFSJ in 2004; two years before it was an official entity.
In the seven years its members have been active, ASJA has been gradually gaining experience in
organizing activities and events. Perhaps two of its most important outputs have been creating its
Guidebook for the Arab Science Journalist, a book written by 18 different contributors from the Arab
science journalism community, in addition to organizing the 1st Arab Conference for Science Journalists
in October 2008 in Fez, Morocco.
ASJA’s partnership with NASW has only made it stronger. In October 2007, ASJA’s board was invited by
NASW to attend its annual meeting. Among the most important outcomes of this visit was a meeting
between both boards that was a tremendous learning opportunity for ASJA as a nascent association,
especially since NASW has more than 70 years of experience under its cap. The personal relationships
that have formed between ASJA and NASW members and the joint activities that have ensued between
the two associations have resulted in a strong partnership that we believe can be a role model for
similar partnerships under the WFSJ umbrella.
We also believe this co-bid is a unique opportunity to create a unique multi-cultural experience should
the 7th World Conference for Science Journalists be held in Cairo under the patronage and organization
of both associations. This unique co-bid will also result in building on the experiences, skills and
knowledge of both associations to organize what we believe could perhaps be one of the strongest
WCSJs to be held to-date.
ASJA and NASW have worked together for the past two months to present this bid to the WFSJ board.
As you read on, you will see that we have created very strong international teams to execute the bid and
later on the conference, while at the same time holding on to our distinct Arab and African feel.
Our vision is to hold a truly international conference organized by international teams with a special
focus on developing world journalists’ needs. And our vision is to bring Arab and African science to the
forefront of international science journalists’ attention.
ASJA and NASW give their sincere gratitude to the board of the World Federation of Science Journalists
for considering this bid.
On behalf of the bid committees,
Nadia El-Awady
WCSJ7 in Cairo Bid Coordinator

About the Co-Bidders:
The Arab Science Journalists Association (ASJA) is a not-for-profit network of Arab science journalists
registered under the umbrella of the Arab Science & Technology Foundation in Sharjah, the United Arab
Emirates. It was officially launched on December 13, 2006 and now includes more than 175 members from 17
countries. The Arab Science Journalists Association strongly believes in the vital role media can play in creating
a strong Arab science & technology (S&T) renaissance.
Mission:
 Providing journalists with the skills needed to cover science with high standards of professionalism
 The popularization of science among the general Arab public
 Supporting the free flow of information between scientists, journalists, and the public-at-large to ensure
peoples’ rights to understanding what is happening around them in terms of science, how it affects them,
and how they can positively interact with it.
Activities:
 Organizing the 1st Arab Conference for Science Journalists in Fez, Morocco in October 2008
 Organizing the 1st Arab Science Journalism Awards in 2008
 Publishing the Arab world’s first Guidebook for the Arab Science Journalist written in 18 chapters by
18 experienced Arab science journalists
 Organizing two seminars in Cairo for Egyptian science journalists
 Organizing four science cafés at El-Sawy Culture Wheel for the general Egyptian public
 Co-organizing a workshop in Jordan for Jordanian journalists on clinical trials
 Keeping ASJA members up-to-date with international events, scholarships and opportunities through
a semi-regular newsletter
 Participating in the World Federation of Science Journalists’ two-year mentoring program for science
journalists in Africa and the Middle East
 Engaging in a strategic partnership with the National Association of Science Writers, U.S.
 Providing opportunities for ASJA members to attend international conferences in cooperation
with international organizations
 Issuing membership cards for ASJA members
 ASJA members e-group (main method of networking and communication with between
members)
 Organizing the Egyptian Environmental Journalism Awards 2008 in cooperation with Wadi
Environmental Science Center
 Organizing a special session on environmental journalism on World Environment Day 2008 in
cooperation with the British Council, Egypt

ASJA has been a member of the World Federation of Science Journalists since it was an online network of
journalists in 2004.
Board members (organized alphabetically by first name):
Bothina Osama
IslamOnline.net, Egypt
Habib Maalouf
As-Safeer Newspaper, Lebanon
Hanan Al-Kiswany
Al-Ghad Newspaper, Jordan
Magdy Said, Egypt (ASJA President)

IslamOnline.net, Egypt
Mohammed Qamari
Sawt Al-Ahrar, Algeria
Musa Fadlallah
Radio Sudan
Zeinab Ghosn
As-Safeer Newspaper, Lebanon
This board’s term began in December 2009 and will end in December 2011.
The Arab Science & Technology Foundation (ASTF) (www.astf.net), under whose umbrella ASJA is officially
registered, is an independent, nongovernmental, non-profit regional and international organization. Scientists
and researchers from inside and outside the Arab world as well as representatives of Arab and international
science centers and organizations have contributed to its establishment. It is based in Sharjah, UAE, and has six
branches and is seeking to establish additional link branches and links in those Arab and world capitals that
have scientific entities willing to participate in its activities. ASTF has a network of 13,000 Arab Scientists,
Engineers & Technology Entrepreneurs and Cooperates with more than 400 International Entities. The Arab

Science & Technology Foundation has been ASJA’s main moral and financial supporter since its official launch
under ASTF’s umbrella in December 2006.
Vision:
Science and technology constitute a strategic source of Arab power, which could be leveraged if efforts unite
and goals crystallize. Any form of support for research and development in the Arab world represents a step
further along the pathway of Arab future.
Mission:
ASTF encourages and supports excellence and innovation in scientific and technological research in the Arab
countries and is committed to promoting coordination and cooperation among scientists and scientific
organizations for the sake of applying knowledge to the service of sustainable development in the Arab
countries.
Board of Directors:
Dr. Abdalla A. Alnajjar

President - Arab Science and Technology Foundation
United Arab Emirates
Prof. Nihad Mohamed El Chazly

Professor - Mechanical Engineering Department, National Research Center
Egypt
Prof. Fakhreddine Othman Karray

Professor - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo
Canada
Dr. Issa Eid Batarseh

Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering - Assistant Dean of Graduate Affairs
University of Central Florida
U.S.A
Dr. Osama O. Awadelkarim

Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics & Associate Director of the Center for Nanotechnology
Education and Utilization, Pennsylvania State University,
U.S.A
Prof. Badiaâ Lyoussi

University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdelah Arab Union of Pharmacology-Faculty of Science
Morocco

Prof. Samira I. Islam
Head of Drug Monitoring Unit King Abdulaziz University Hosital King Fahd Medical Research Center,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Dr. Ibrahim Elfadel

Senior Scientist, IBM System and Technology Group, Yorktown Heights.
U.S.A
Prof. Moza Al-Rabban

Associate Physics professor, Qatar University
Qatar
Honorary Members:
Dr. Mowafak M. Al-Jassim

Principal Scientist / Group Leader - National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
U.S.A
Prof. Fathi Hassan Ghorbel

Professor - Department of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, Rice University
U.S.A
The National Association of Science Writers (U.S.):
In 1934, a dozen pioneering science reporters established the National Association of Science Writers at a
meeting in New York. They wanted a forum in which to join forces to improve their craft and encourage
conditions that promote good science writing.
The association was formally incorporated in 1955 with a charter to "foster the dissemination of accurate
information regarding science through all media normally devoted to informing the public."
Over the years, its officers have included both freelancers and employees of most of the major newspapers,
wire services, magazines, and broadcast outlets in the country.
Above all, NASW fights for the free flow of science news.
NASW Officers:
Mariette DiChristina Gerosa, president

Scientific American

Nancy Shute, vice president
U.S. News & World Report
Peggy Girshman, treasurer

Congressional Quarterly
Ron Winslow, secretary

Wall Street Journal
Board members-at-large:
Beryl Lieff Benderly

Freelance
Kelli Whitlock Burton

Freelance
Glennda Chui
Symmetry
Terry Devitt
University of Wisconsin-Madison/The Why Files
Dan Ferber
Freelance
Bob Finn
International Medical News Group
Robin Marantz Henig

Freelance
Tom Paulson
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Tabitha M. Powledge
Freelance
Vikki Valentine
National Public Radio
Mitch Waldrop
Nature

Other key NASW Personnel:
Tinsley Davis, executive director
Lynne Friedmann, editor

ScienceWriters
Russell Clemings, cybrarian

A'ndrea Elyse Messer, NASW assistant cybrarian

Letters of support:
For the purpose of this bid, we have received letters of support from the following individuals and
organizations:
1. Magdy Said, President of the Arab Science Journalists Association

2. Mariette DiChristina, NASW President
(and – in alphabetical order):
3. A. Assa’edi, Assistant Regional Director, WHO-EMRO

4. Abdelmonem Abulfotouh, Secretary General, Arab Medical Union
5. Abeer Saady, Board Member and Manager of Professional Development and Training, Egyptian
Journalists’ Syndicate
6. Adnan Hamoui, Editor-in-chief, Oloom Magazine (Arabic version of Scientific American), Kuwait
7. Ahmed Zewail, 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Linus Pauling Chair Professor of Chemistry &
Physics, Director, Physical Biology Center for UST, California Institute of Technology
8. Angele Luh-Sy, Information Officer, UNEP Regional Office for Africa, Founder of African Network
of Environmental Journalists
9. Assem El-Kersh, Editor-in-Chief, Al-Ahram Weekly Newspaper
10. Christian Hülshörster, Director, DAAD Cairo office (German Academic Exchange Service)
11. Cristine Russel, President, Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (U.S.)
12. David Dickson, Director, SciDev.net
13. Eglal Rached, Regional Director, International Development Research Center, Middle East and
North Africa
14. Emad El-Din Adly, Chairman of the Arab Office for Youth and Environment, General Coordinator
of Arab Network for Environment and Development
15. Farouk El-Baz, Director, Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University
16. Ginger Pinholster, Director, AAAS Public Programs
17. Hany El Nazer, President, National Research Centre
18. Hany Mahfouz Hilal, Minister of Higher Education and Minister of State for Scientific Research
19. Hicham Mourad, Managing Editor, Al-Ahram Hebdo Weekly Newspaper
20. Hisham Gaafar, General Manager, Media International
21. Ibrahim Abdel Gelil, Vice Dean of Technological Studies, Director of Environmental Management
Program, Arabian Gulf University
22. Julia Race, Deputy Director, British Council Egypt
23. Khaled AbuZeid, Managing Director, Egyptian Water Partnership
24. Lawrence Pintak, Director, Kamal Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research, American
University in Cairo
25. Lynn Sigouin Freiji, Founder and Director, Wadi Environmental Science Center

26. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, President, Arab Water Council
27. Michael Scoullos, Chairman, Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and
Sustainable Development
28. Mike Vertigans, Directorof Public Affairs, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Qatar
Foundation
29. Mohamed Ahachad, Executive Director, Arab Science & Technology Foundation
30. Mohamed El Sawy, Founder of El Sawy Culture Wheel
31. Mohamed Salmawy, President, Arab Writers Union
32. Mohamed Sheridah, President, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries
33. Moneef Zou’bi, Director General, Islamic World Academy of Sciences
34. Mustafa El Tayeb, Director, Division for Science Policy and Sustainable Development, UNESCO
35. Nadia Makram Ebeid, Executive Director, Center for Environment and Development for the Arab
Region and Europe (CEDARE)
36. Randa Fouad, President, Arab Media Forum for Environment and Development (AMFED)
37. Sharon Moshavi, Senior Director of New Initiatives, International Center for Journalists
38. Tarek Hussein, President, Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research & Technology (ASRT)
39. Yousef Zadeh, Manager of International Conferences Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
40. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General, Egyptian Ministry of Culture Supreme Council of Antiquities

From: Adnan Hamoui [oloom@kfas.org.kw]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:43 PM
To: 'nadiaelawady@gmail.com'
Subject: RE:

From: Adnan Hamoui [oloom@kfas.org.kw]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:43 PM
To: 'nadiaelawady@gmail.com'
Subject: RE:
Dr Nadia El-Awady
Arab Science Journalists Association’s Bid Coordinator
To Host the 7th World Conference for Science Journalists
I wish the best of success to the team that has been assigned by the Arab Science Journalists
Association to host the7th World Conference for Science Journalists in Cairo.

Hosting this conference in Cairo, the capital of Arabs, will give a strong push forward for the
science movement in the Arab world through supporting Arab science journalism, the role of
which cannot be underestimated in communicating the role of science in creating a
comprehensive development for society and in reinvigorating public ambitions in science.
Hosting this conference in Egypt, which is centrally located for most developing world
countries, will provide an opportunity for a large number of science journalists from these
countries to participate.
Also, Egypt and Cairo’s unique tourist attractions, antiquities and natural areas are sure to
attract a large number of international science journalists to participate in this international
science journalism gathering.
There is no doubt that the Egyptian experiences and skills in organizing events in all fields, in
addition to the available facilities and the diverse media available in Egypt to cover such a
conference, plus what the Arab Science Journalists Association has gained from participating in
previous world conferences, all this tips the balance towards Cairo and qualifies it to host this
conference and make it a success. And this is certainly what Arab scientists in particular will
want and they will do everything in their power to mobilize all Arab governmental and non-
governmental support.
Al-Oloom Magazine [the Arabic version of Scientific American published in Kuwait], in turn, will
do what it can to encourage participation in this conference and to get the necessary support
from organizations in the Arab world. It will do this through publishing announcements in the
magazine about the conference and its role in energizing the scientific movement in the Arab
world in particular and its role in creating awareness of efforts being done in the region to keep
pace with international scientific advancement.
What Arab science journalists hope is that the board assigned to choosing the venue of the 7 th
World Conference for Science Journalists takes into consideration that holding the conference
in Cairo will support the Arab region’s efforts in creating a culture of peace and discourse
among civilizations.
Professor Dr. Adnan Al-Hamoui

Editor-in-Chief, Al-Oloom Magazine
Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences

Bid Executive Committee in Cairo:
The bid executive committee in Cairo was responsible for approaching local, regional and international
organizations and individuals to get support for this bid. They were also responsible for putting together
the bid document together with the bid/conference program committee.
Members of the bid executive committee in Cairo are:
Nadia El-Awady – Bid Coordinator

Freelance journalist, WFSJ board member, ASJA founding member and past president
Nadia El-Awady is a freelance science journalist and media consultant. She is a board member of the
World Federation of Science Journalists and founder and past president of the Arab Science Journalists
Association. She worked for several years as the managing science editor at IslamOnline.net while also
irregularly freelancing for several international media organizations such as SciDev.net, Cosmos
Magazine, and most recently Seed Magazine. After leaving IslamOnline.net she worked as program
manager with the International Center for Journalists on a six-month training project for Egyptian
journalists in investigative reporting. She has also been involved for the past two years as Middle East
regional coordinator of a World Federation of Science Journalists’ training project for journalists in Africa
and the Arab world. Nadia has won two international awards for her work and has a B.Sc. in medicine
from Cairo University and an MA in journalism and mass communication from the American University
in Cairo. More importantly to her, she has four beautiful children ages 14, 12, 11 and 9.
Dalia Abdelsalam
Environmental Editor – Al-Ahram Hebdo
Dalia Abdel Salam has been a journalist since 1994 and the Environment Editor of Al Ahram Hebdo, (an
Egyptian weekly newspaper in the French language) since 1999. She works as media consultant for
national, regional and international organizations.
Over the past ten years, she wrote more than 200 features on pollution, biodiversity, recycling, and
climate change, but her favorite subject has always been water.
She was the regional winner for French speaking Africa of the 2006 Reuters IUCN Media Award for
Excellence in Environmental Journalism. Dalia is also an environmental reporting trainer. Since 2006, she
has been acting as coordinator for Northern Africa for the African Network of Environmental Journalists
(ANEJ). She is a very active member of several science and environment journalists networks such as the
Arab Science Journalists Association, the Circle of Mediterranean Journalists for Environment and

Development, the Egyptian Water Partnership, the Water Media Network, the International Federation
of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) and many others. She participated as jury member in many
environmental media awards on both national and regional levels. Dalia is working
on the outreach strategy for the first Environment Outlook report for the Arab Region (EOAR), to be
launched in June 2009 at the League of Arab States.
Magdy Said
ASJA President
IslamOnline.net
Magdy Said is the president of the Arab Science Journalists Association. He has a B.Sc. in medicine and
surgery and a diploma in African studies in the field of anthropology from Cairo University. Magdy
worked as a physician for eight years before getting into the field of science communication where he
started as the editorial secretary of the magazine of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate. He worked for
several years in the fields of social research, microcredit, and the environment until he finally settled in
at IslamOnline.net where he has worked since 2000 as writer, editor, and head of department. Magdy
has hundreds of published articles on the Internet and in Egyptian newspapers in addition to many
published and unpublished papers in the field of civil work.
Ashraf Amin
Science journalist – Al-Ahram Daily and MBC Satellite Channel
Bothina Osama
ASJA Board Member
IslamOnline.net
Mohammed Yahia
IslamOnline.net
Mohammed Yahia is a science journalist and editor working with IslamOnline.net and based in Cairo,
Egypt. In 2007, he was one of the finalists for the Kaiser Foundation Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Journalism in Africa -- part of the CNN MultiChoice African Awards -- for an article he wrote in
IslamOnline.net on how HIV is disproportionately affecting women in Africa. Besides writing for
IslamOnline.net, his articles have been published in SciDev.net, Turkish Weekly, and The Daily Star
Egypt. Lately, he is focusing on new media and exploring ways to apply science journalism to evolving
areas such as social networks, virtual worlds, and media integration.

He is currently head of the new media unit in IslamOnline.net. He is also the new media consultant at
Kamal Adham Center in the American University in Cairo (AUC). He was involved in the inauguration of
the AUC Virtual Newsroom inside the virtual world of Second Life.
Bid/Conference Program Committee:
The bid/conference program committee was put together with the vision of creating the WCSJ’s first-
ever (as far as we’re aware) truly international program committee. Committee members represent the
different regions of the world with a bit of extra leverage given to the Arab world and Africa for
increased ownership of the conference from both regions. Bid/conference program committee
members are and will be responsible for communicating with other science journalists in each of their
regions to reflect the varying regional needs of colleagues all over the world.
The bid/conference program committee includes:
Deborah Blum (program committee chair) is a Pulitzer Prizewinning science writer and the Helen
Firstbrook Franklin Professor of Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Her newest book, The Poisoner’s Handbook: A true story of chemistry, murder, and jazz-age New York
will be published by Penguin Press later this year. Previous books include Ghost Hunters: William James
and the Scientific Search for Life after Death (2006) Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of
Affection (2002); Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences between Men and Woman (1997) and The
Monkey Wars (1994). She is also co-editor of a Field Guide for Science Writers, which was published in a
second edition in 2006.
Before joining the university in 1997, she was a science writer for The Sacramento Bee, where she won
the Pulitzer in 1992 for her reporting on ethical issues in primate research. She is an occasional blogger
for The Huffington Post and has written a wide range of publications including The New York Times, The
Los Angeles Times, Science News, and Discover magazine.
She serves on the board of the Council for Advance of Science Writing, on the board of the World
Federation of Science Journalists, and the board of trustees for the Society for Science and the Public.
She is a past- president of the National Association of Science Writers (US) and currently serves as
international liaison for that organization.
Akin Jimoh covered science and health at The Guardian, the leading English-language daily in Nigeria.
After earning a master's in medical physiology at the University of Lagos in 1990, Jimoh switched from
the Ph. D. program and began writing about health, the environment and science at The Guardian. Since
then, he also has earned a master's in public health. During the 1995-1996 academic year, Jimoh was a
David E. Bell Fellow and Research Scholar at Harvard's Center for Population and Development Studies.

Currently one of the leading trainers and mentors in science and public health journalism in Africa, he
has participated in local and international training and development programs covering journalists from
South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia,
Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria. He played several roles in the Africa/Middle East Science Journalism
Cooperative (SjCOOP) of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ).
Dalia Abdel Salam (see bio in Bid Executive Committee)
Frank Nuijens is a science communication advisor and press information officer at Delft University of
Technology in the Netherlands since December 2005. Before that he was a science journalist and
television researcher for popular science programmes on Dutch public television and radio for seven
years. His work ranged from children’s science shows to science news programmes and documentaries.
Several of the episodes of programmes he worked on have won national awards. He has written news
stories for the national science news internet portal Noorderlicht and wrote a chapter on biometrics for
the popular life science book In the Future Everything Will Be Fantastic (2006).
Since 2007 he is also Lecturer in Science Journalism at Delft University of Technology, and teaches a
Bachelor and Master course in science journalism. He is a member of the executive committee of the
World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) 2009 in London. In September 2008 he initiated the
Science Journalism blog for the website of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) and is the
editor of this blog. He is an active member and the webmaster of the Dutch Association of Science
Journalists (VWN).
He has a Master’s degree in Biology from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and tried his hand at a
PhD project in evolutionary biology for four years before deciding that his heart was not in scientific
research but in reporting about it. He never finished his PhD thesis.
Nuijens’ passion for critically transferring knowledge has been apparent ever since he taught his teddy
bears and published his own newspaper as a child.
Gervais Mbarga holds a Ph.D. in sociology, a Master’s Degree in sociology and a Bachelor of Arts in
journalism. Research Associate, Chair Bell Globemedia in Science Journalism, Université Laval, Québec,
Canada, since 2008. Full-time Professor, University of Yaoundé 2, Advanced School of Mass
Communication and Information Science (1993-2008). He taught science journalism, health and
environment journalism, radio and television production and programming, radio and TV reporting and
media studies.
He is the Francophone Regional Coordinator of the SjCOOP (Science Journalism in Cooperation) Project
of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) since 2006. He was Director of Programming and
Production (1998-2005) in CRTV (Cameroon Radio and Television Corporation); Head of Cabinet, General
Manager CRTV (2000-2005); Head of the Science, Health and Environmental Journalists Training
Programme in University of Yaoundé 2 (1993-1998); Editor in Chief for Television in CRTV (1984-1985);
Head of Presidential and Diplomatic Reporting, CRTV (1987-1989) and Science Reporter.

Gervais is a former chairman of Cameroon Science for Life (SciLife), the Cameroonian Association of
Science Journalists and Communicators (2005-2009).
Luisa Massarani is a Brazilian science journalist. Her background is in communication, with a Master in
science information and a PhD in biochemistry. Since 2003, she is the Latin American coordinator of
SciDev.Net (www.scidev.net), a gateway based in London aimed at science and development in
developing countries. In her position, she coordinates about 30 journalists in the region, who work for
SciDev.Net as freelancers. She is also the head of Nucleus of Studies on Science Communication at the
Museum of Life (www.museudavida.fiocruz.br), a science museum in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) linked to the
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a key health research institution in Latin America linked to the Brazilian
Ministry of Health. Furthermore, she is also the coordinator of a diploma course on science
communication, created in Rio de Janeiro as a result of a partnership between several key organizations
on science communication. Luisa is also the head of the Ibero-American Network for Monitoring and
Training on Science Journalism, just created in 2009 with the support of the Ibero-American Program of
Science and Technology for Development (Cyted); the network joins 12 countries in the region.
Luisa has been working in science communication since 1987 and conjugates both practical and research
activities. Besides writing stories, Luisa also has been organizing workshops for training Latin American
and Caribbean journalists for covering science and health stories, both in Brazil and in other countries in
the region. She also carries out research in science and health journalism, aiming to map out how
science and health issues have been covered by the regional media, with the objective of supporting a
well informed basis for improving the quality of the coverage in the region.
Natasha Mitchell is a science journalist and broadcaster with the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation. She hosts and produces the popular weekly show, All in the Mind, broadcast and podcast
internationally on ABC Radio National and Radio Australia (http://abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind).
In 2005/6 she was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship, a mid-career fellowship for
journalists to spend a year at MIT, and Harvard University. She was a recipient of a 2006 Marine
Biological Laboratory Science Journalism Fellowship at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Natasha won the Grand Prize (2008) and 4 World Gold Medals at the New York Radio Festivals (2008,
2005, 2003), for programs, including The Brain Under Seige broadcast on All in the Mind, for a four part
series An Indian Mental Health Odyssey, and jointly for Science in a Suitcase, a series broadcast on ABC
Radio National's Science Show.
Natasha presented and coproduced Parched Lands, a coproduction with the BBC World Service. The 4
part series travelled to desert lands in China, India, the USA and Australia's Red Centre, and won a Gold
World Medal at the New York Radio Festivals (2005).
She was the recipient of the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Broadcast Media Award in 2008,
2004, 2002 and 2001, a finalist in the 2008 W.A Mental Health Good Outcomes awards, the 2008 and
2007 Human Rights Awards, and in the 2002 Eureka Awards for Ideas with Wings, a radio series she

presented on innovation. She was winner and runner-up in the 2000 Public Health Association of
Australia Media Awards,and received a MBF Health and Well-Being radio award in 1997.
Natasha regularly hosts events and forums at festivals and conferences across Australia, and her writing
appears in Australian newspapers and magazines. She's also a blogger
(http://blogs.abc.net.au/allinthemind) and occasional twitterer
(http://www.twitter.com/allinthemind).
She joined the ABC as a science reporter in 1997, and worked across TV, Radio and Online.with a range
of programs, including Quantum, The Health Report, The Lab, The Science Show, Earthbeat, Earshot and
Radio National's social history programs, Hindsight and Verbatim, amongst others.
Natasha graduated from Monash University with a first class honours degree in Engineering, and
partway through a PhD in materials engineering. After working in different research labs during that
time, and a stint as a Women in Engineering coordinator at the University of Technology, Sydney - she's
now doing what she really loves - chatting to people about the wonders and idiosyncrasies of the human
condition. In 1995 she completed a postgraduate diploma in Science Communication at the Australian
National University, which included touring and performing with the National Science and Technology
Centre's Questacon Science Circus.
Natasha lives and breathes in ABC Radio National's small specialist Science Unit, home to popular
programs like The Science Show and Health Report. She initiated All In the Mind in 2002 partly because
of a love of eccentric minds, an innate ability to spend more time in her head than she possibly ought to,
and an interest in critical and interdisciplinary engagement between science, society, art and culture
Peter Calamai developed an interest in science and journalism at high school in Brantford, where he
edited a student newspaper and took part in two science fair projects. That experience led to a B.Sc.
physics degree from McMaster University and more than 40 years as a reporter and editor with
Canadian daily newspapers. From 1998 until June 2008 he was the national science reporter based in
Ottawa for the Toronto Star, covering stories from the High Arctic to Australia.
From 1969 to 1973 Calamai also reported science from Ottawa for the Southam newspapers, covering
the Apollo moon program and the 1972 Stockholm Environment Conference among many memorable
stories. In between the science stints he was a foreign correspondent in Europe, Africa and the U.S., a
national correspondent here at home and the editorial page editor of The Ottawa Citizen for six years.
He has been an adjunct research professor in the School of Journalism at Carleton University since 2001
and is currently teaching a course in science reporting for fourth-year journalism undergrads. As well, he
continues to write “Telescope,” a weekly column of science news in the Sunday Toronto Star and is
consulting on communications for federal science agencies. He is a Contributing Editor for Cosmos, a
premium science magazine published in Australia.
Calamai has won numerous journalism honors, including three National Newspaper Awards and two

Science in Society awards from the Canadian Science Writers’ Association, of which he is a founder. He
has also been honoured for science communications by the Canadian Association of Physicists, the
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, the American Meteorological Society, the
Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs and the Geological Association of Canada.
His quasi-scientific pursuits include conchology, photography and the genetic perfection of tomatoes.
His pseudo-scientific studies revolve around Sherlock Holmes, where he is published in limited editions.
Raghida Haddad, from Lebanon, is executive editor of Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia (Environment &
Development), the leading environment magazine in the Middle East and North Africa. She is also
manager of Technical Publications, producing books, booklets, reports and press kits related to
environment and sustainable development. A biologist and university lecturer on media translation, she
was also Managing Editor of Al-Mukhtar, the Arabic edition of The Reader’s Digest, and a mentor in the
World Federation of Science Journalists' peer-to-peer program.
In 2008, Raghida Haddad won the WFSJ competition to join the international scientific expedition
onboard the Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen. In July-August 2008, she navigated for two weeks
in the Arctic Ocean to get firsthand experience of global warming where it is unfolding the fastest and to
relay this experience to readers throughout the Arab region.
Raghida Haddad is founding member of the Lebanese Association of Appropriate Technology (LATA) and
of Lebanon Mountain Trail Association.
Subhra Priyadarshini joined the Nature Publishing Group as the editor of its Indian portal Nature India
after a decade-long stint with mainstream Indian media. She took to writing science when in journalism
school. Though she chased deadlines to cover politics and sports, fashion and films, crime and natural
disasters as a journalist, she kept coming back to her first love — science.
As a science and environment journalist, Subhra won the BBC World Service Trust award for her
coverage of the vanishing islands of Sunderbans in the Bay of Bengal. She also received letters of
commendation from the Press Trust of India for her incisive coverage of the Indian Ocean tsunami and
the Supercyclone in Orissa.
Subhra has a bachelor’s degree in zoology and dabbled in law after majoring in Personnel Management
and Industrial Relations from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. She was the youngest in the
inaugural batch of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, India and later studied print
journalism at the University of Westminster, London. She has had very successful stints as a
correspondent with The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Asian Age, The Telegraph, Press Trust of
India and Down To Earth magazine. She briefly worked for The Observer, London. Nature India is her
first online venture.

Tatiana Pichugina is a science journalist from Russia with more than 10 years of experience. Now she is
the project manager for the Nanotechnology in Russia journal and online media nanorf.ru. Before that
she was a science editor for the Vokrug sveta magazine, an Arctic project on the Rambler TV channel,
the Lomonosov magazine, a manager of the science news agency InformNauka. Since 1996 she did much
freelancing for many Russian media like Izvestia, Poisk, and Nezavisimaja gazeta.
She is an active member of the Moscow Science Journalists Club, a participant of many national events
on science and society and an occasional lecturer on science journalism and scientific topics (like “What
we know about dinosaurs” or “How to see climate change”) for different audiences.
After participating in WCSJ2004 in Montreal she started a website “Science journalism news”
(http://sciencejournalist.ru/about/about-eng.php) to share professional news with Russian colleagues.
In 2008 she was one of the winners of the WFSJ Amundsen competition and was aboard the icebreaker
in the Canadian Arctic. Her Arctic blog: http://www.wfsj.org/resources/page.php?id=127.
She has a scientific background in Earth sciences and PhD in philosophy of modern sciences.
Conference Steering Committee:
The conference steering committee (in alphabetical order) is formed of:
 Abdalla Alnajjar, President of the Arab Science & Technology Foundation

 Abdelhady Mesbah, ASJA founding member, immunologist, and science writer for Egyptian and Arab
media
 Conference director/co-directors
 Cristine Russel, President, Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (U.S.)
 Deborah Blum, Program Committee Chair (bio above)
 Executive director of WFSJ
 Magdy Said, ASJA President (bio above)
 Robert Lee Hotz, NASW past president, Pulitzer Prize winner, science writer for Wall Street Journal
 Tinsley Davis, NASW Executive Director
The steering committee will be responsible for:
 General oversight and supervision of the conference organization progress

 Providing advice and guidance to conference management
 Representing their individual organizations and reporting to their boards

The steering committee will meet on a semi-regular basis (once before the end of 2009, three times in
2010, and once monthly in 2011) either by Skype chat or through email discussion.
During these meetings, the steering committee will receive reports from the conference director(s) and
the program committee chair (who will both also be steering committee members) on the progress of
their work.

Egypt: Umm addunya (Mother of the World)
The Arab Republic of Egypt
is located at the north-
eastern tip of Africa, with
the Sinai Peninsula forming
a bridge with West Asia.
Egypt is bordered to the
north by the
Mediterranean Sea, to the
east by the Occupied
Palestinian Territories and
the Red Sea, to the south
by Sudan and to the west
by Libya.
Egypt is one of the most

populous countries in the
Arab world and Africa with
an estimated population of 83 million. Almost all of this population is located along the green strip of
land lying along the Nile River, known as the Nile Valley, in addition to the northern Delta region and
near the Suez Canal. The result is that ninety-nine percent of Egypt’s population is using approximately
5.5 percent of the country’s total land area.
Egypt has one of the most rapidly growing economies in the region as it is currently witnessing extensive
and liberal economic reforms. Egypt’s economy largely depends on tourism, agriculture, media, and
petroleum exports.
The official language of Egypt is Arabic, however English and French are both widely spoken by the
country’s educated.
Egypt has 26 governorates and its largest city is Cairo followed by Alexandria.
Egypt is an important media hub and center for scientific research in the Arab world. It is also one of the
most important cultural and touristic destinations in the world. It is situated at the gateway between
Africa, Asia, and Europe. This makes it easily accessible from most countries around the globe.
Egypt stands at the crossroads between the developed and the developing worlds. This makes it an ideal
location to hold the 7th World Conference for Science Journalists (WCSJ7) as a truly global event.

We aim to have the largest number of science journalists from the developing world in WCSJ7. This will
be a unique opportunity to bring together science journalists from the North and South to share
experiences.
It is only natural that the 7th World Conference for Science Journalists comes to Egypt, the original
birthplace of science more than 5,000 years ago.

Why Cairo as the WCSJ7 host city?
Cairo, expanding from the Nile into the desert on both sides, is often credited as the cradle of
civilization. It is the largest city in Africa, with a population of 18 million. There are direct flights to Cairo
from 600 locations worldwide. Delegates will be able to visit other cities in the country and region easily
either by train or plane. This will give them a chance to report on world-class science taking place in the
region that is often under-reported and undiscovered.
Egypt is home to more than 170,000 scientists. It has over 50 institutions involved in research, with
focuses ranging from oceanography to metallurgy to astronomy to climate change. Surrounding
countries in the region are also increasingly contributing to the cumulative global scientific knowledge.
Egypt has 18 government universities and 21 private universities, academies, and learning institutes. It
also has 48 museums and 26 protectorates.
Egypt has the largest concentration of science journalists in the region. It also has more media
organizations covering science than any other country in the Arab world. While science journalism is
recessing in many parts of the developed world, it is thriving and growing in the region, with more
journalists joining the Arab Science Journalists Association (ASJA) every year.
Africa and the Arab world now boast some of the most advanced and sophisticated Science &
Technology Parks in the world. This includes Smart Village in Cairo, the Qatar Science and Technology

Park, and iPARK in Jordan. Currently there are more than 30 parks dedicated to information and
communication technology (ICT), 15 biotechnology parks, and a dozen focusing on
advanced engineering in the Arab world.
In 2002, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the new Library of Alexandria, opened its doors for the first time. It
became an important beacon of science and knowledge in Africa and the Arab world. It is the only
library in the world that contains a mirror of the complete Internet Archives. It is one of the most
important cultural and scientific centers of the Mediterranean region.
With a strong mixture of Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic origin,

Egypt is a rich cultural center. With hundreds of stages, halls, and
museums around the country, there are always events to visit every
day. The capital is home to the Opera House and Sawy’s Culture
Wheel, where cultural diversity is celebrated. Visiting Khan El-Khalili,
Cairo’s grand bizarre founded in 1382, and other areas in the old city
is like taking a step back in time. With so much always going on,
Cairo is truly a city that never sleeps.
Egypt is home to one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. Thus it houses a third of the world’s
antiquities. Cairo is home to the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza.
There are daily trains and flights to other important historical cities such as Aswan and Luxor in the
south.

Possible venues in Cairo:
The Four Seasons Hotel at Nile Plaza1
Strategically located in the center of Cairo, the Four Seasons Hotel at Nile Plaza rises on the legendary
Corniche along the bank of the Nile. With commanding views of both the Nile and the Citadel, this four-
year-old hotel is only a 15-minute walk from the Egyptian Museum and downtown Cairo. The Four
Seaons is within walking distance from a large number of hotels ranging from posh 7-star hotels to much
cheaper pensions in the downtown area.
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at

Nile Plaza offers the Plaza
Ballroom with a pre-
function area and five well-
designed, spacious
conference and banqueting
venues, each with its own
private foyer that can be
adapted to suit gatherings
of virtually any size. Each of
the smaller salons benefit
from natural light, with additional lighting that is fully programmable through a state-of-the-art dimming
system. Function spaces are tastefully decorated with silk paneled walls, mahogany trim, rich wall-to-
wall carpeting that incorporates a contemporary Arabesque motif, and stunning bronze chandeliers.
Divisible in three, the grand 1,000-square-metre (10,764-square-foot) Plaza Ballroom will accommodate
up to 800 for a banquet and up to 1,000 for a reception, while the salons accommodate board meetings,
smaller receptions and banquets.
In addition, five boardrooms and a conference room in the Business Centre meet the needs of business
meetings, accommodating from six to twelve individuals for board meetings.
All meeting spaces at the Four Seasons are fully equipped to support the most demanding presentation
and communication requirements with:
1
Taken for the most part from the Four Seasons at Nile Plaza website

 Advanced lighting
 AV and staging capabilities
 Telecommunications and electrical hook ups
 Built-in screens in the ceiling and 3-phase power outlets
 Wired or wireless Internet access
Grand Hyatt Hotel2
Just across the street from the Four Seasons Hotel at Nile Plaza, the
Grand Hyatt is also strategically located in central Cairo and within
walking distance from a large number of hotels and tourist sites.
Grand Hyatt Cairo offers seven versatile indoor and outdoor

meeting and event venues, providing some of Cairo's most
spectacular and panoramic views of the River Nile. Grand Hyatt
Cairo has over 3000 square meters of meeting and event space
throughout both the hotel and its conjoined entertainment centre.
With meeting facilities to suit every need, Grand Hyatt Cairo's

Farhaty Ballroom is ideal for large functions, while the hotel's
Laylaty Ballroom presents a stunning Cairo venue for smaller gala
dinners. Corporate events and private board meetings at Grand
Hyatt Cairo can be held in the professional environment of Akhnaton hall or Nefertary boardrooms,
replete with solid oak tables and deep leather chairs.
Grand Hyatt Cairo's Nile Expo hall, which extends out over the Nile, is ideal for seminars and trade
expositions held in Cairo. In addition, Grand Hyatt Cairo's exclusive shopping and leisure centre, Galleria,
has an 800-seat multi-purpose auditorium and two small cinemas that can be reserved for private
concerts, film screenings or theatrical performances.
The experienced technicians at Grand Hyatt Cairo will arrange any of these meeting rooms to
accommodate a wide variety of set-ups and seating requirements, resulting in an infinite number of
meeting possibilities.
2
Taken for the most part from the Grand Hyatt Hotel website

Conrad Hotel Cairo3
Conrad Hotel Cairo also lies on the River Nile about 15

minutes’ drive from downtown Cairo.
The Conrad’s 3500 square metres (37,600 square feet) of

function space is divided into 11 versatile function rooms, all
featuring state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, enabling
the Conrad Cairo to host small board meetings for up to eight
delegates and formal receptions for a maximum of 1200
guests. To assure the maximum functionality and accessibility required by any meeting planner, all
meeting and banqueting rooms are located on one floor of the hotel and are supported by the latest
audio-visual and technical hardware.
The Conrad Ballroom is the place at the Conrad Cairo for innovative yet discreet functions, offering
comfortable familiarity, harmonized with grandeur and flexibility. For smaller events and meetings, the
hotel's Nile Ballroom can be divided into three sections. Both meeting rooms offer a large foyer area for
pre-event gatherings or breaks outside the main meeting room. The Salon Diplomat is a unique function
room at the Conrad Cairo, featuring a built-in stage for banqueting or meeting events.
InterContinental Cairo Citystars4
InterContinental Cairo Citystars is part of the Middle East’s largest retail and entertainment complex,
giving direct access to 550 stores and an indoor theme park. The hotel is ideally located seven minutes
from Cairo International Airport, 10 minutes from Cairo International Conference Centre and 30 minutes
from downtown Cairo.
InterContinental Cairo Citystars offers 19 versatile conference and banqueting rooms, with floor space
from 24 to 2200 square meters that can host a wide variety of events from corporate gatherings to
lavish, social celebrations.
6 Meeting Rooms
3
Taken for the most part from the hotel website
4
Taken for the most part from the hotel webste

3,420.5m² / 36,817.96ft² of meeting space
Largest Room Capacity: 2,200 boardroom style
Largest Room Measurements:

64m / 209.97ft x 34m / 111.55ft (ceiling height = 6.7m / 21.98ft)
Smallest Room Capacity: 24 boardroom style
Smallest Room Measurements:

5m / 16.4ft x 10m / 32.81ft (ceiling height = 3m / 9.84ft)
5,000m² / 53,819.55ft² of exhibit space
50 - 8x10 Booths can be accommodated
The Cairo International Conference Centre5
The Cairo International Conference Centre ( CICC ) is the only comprehensive conference centre in the
country, over 30 hectares of it . Of this , 58,000 sq.m. have been given over to conference facilities that
are nothing less than state of the art. The Centre is a mere ten minute drive from Cairo International
Airport, a short drive from any one of several five star hotels and a five minute walk from the Cairo
International Exhibition Grounds .The Centre also has mobile interpretation units and three large rooms
or boardrooms each with a capacity of 50 persons for the smaller meetings or receptions or even just for
a display area.
The largest auditorium hall, Cheops Auditorium, has a total area of 2700 sq.m. It features the latest
functional congress technology, and holds 2,500 people in 2 levels, level 1 accommodates 1450 seats
and level 2 is for 1050 seats in plush comfort.
The stage has the added attraction of the two circular daises, which rotate slowly in opposite directions.
The center dais can be raised 1.8m and lowered 3.3m. With a stage height of 10m, the stage also has an
orchestra system area that can be lowered 1.9m.
Chefren auditorium is a replica of Cheops Auditorium containing all its amenities. Its total area is of 940
sq.m. with a seating capacity of 800 on 2 levels, level 1 with 560 seats and level 2 has 240 seats. The
auditorium has the versatility to be divided into two identical halls each one with its own meeting
facilities and its own stage.
5
Taken for the most part from CICC website

Mycerinos Auditorium is the most
flexible of the three main auditoriums
as it can be used as a meeting and
exhibition hall. It has an area of 960
sq.m. and a capacity of 600 seats. This
hall provides a functional combination
that can systematically reduce it in
size to units of multiples of 100 seats
with moveable partitions.
This division in varied seating

configuration makes it well suited for
a variety of events.
Each of the divided halls continues to
be equipped with the same meeting
facilities as the two larger ones.
Flexibility and convenience have been
designed into this hall making it ideal for small size seminars, exhibitions, and workshops.
The CICC press centre has a separate entrance and is designed to offer exemplary working conditions for
press, radio and TV coverage.
Its main press hall has a capacity for 150 seats in theater/classroom style and has the facilities for
simultaneous translation in four languages in addition to Closed Circuit Television linked to every
auditorium in the centre.
There are three multipurpose rooms each 177 sq.m. adjacent to the Press Centre and flexible in their
design to meet the demands of each individual organizer either to be used as meeting halls, editors'
rooms or exhibition.
Any number of telephone and fax lines - local and international as well as ISDN - or computers can be
installed within the Press Centre with UPS systems in operation. Dark rooms are available for the avid
photographers.
Also in front of the Centre there is a fully equipped Business Centre providing all secretarial works in
addition to a post office.
In addition to these five to seven star venues, Cairo has other possible sights to hold the WCSJ7 or
portions of it. These include the vast university grounds of the American University in Cairo and the large
meeting rooms and auditoriums of the National Research Center and the Egyptian Press Syndicate.

Some Suggested Excursions:
Egypt and the surrounding African and Arab regions boast some of the most diverse cultural, touristic
and scientific excursions the world can give. Below, we entice you with only three possible excursions
from the region’s almost limitless potential to please and amaze.
Wadi El-Hetan
Located 150 Km away from Cairo, Wadi El-Hetan (Whale Valley)

is an important paleontological and UNESCO World Heritage
site. Visitors will go on a trek through attractive and exciting
desert terrain to reach the site, located behind the eerily
named “Mountain of Hell.” The site holds the answers to one of
the greatest mysteries of the evolution of whales: its
emergence from a land-based large animal to the largest ocean-
dwelling mammal. No other place in the world yields the
number, concentration, and quality of such fossils, which is why it
was added by the UNESCO to the list of protected World Heritage sites. The site also holds fossils for
other early animals such as sharks, crocodiles, sawfish, turtles and rays.
Wadi El-Hitan, is also home to 15 species of desert plants among the expansive sand dunes. There are
about 15 types of wild mammals such as the North African jackal, red fox, Egyptian mongoose, and the
dorcas gazelle. The lakes of Wadi El-Rayan which are close by also attract 19 species of reptiles and 36
species of breeding birds.
Smart Village
Located 30 minutes from Cairo’s bustling downtown area,

Smart Village, Cairo’s first S&T Park, is home to more than
100 national and international businesses and research
centers. The three million square meters’ park offers high
quality services, a complete fiber optic network, and
broadband internet facilities to all organizations and
enterprises within.
Smart Village makes use of multiple power sources and

accommodates environment awareness into its design.

Today, it is Cairo’s biggest IT center with more than 12,000 employees. The number is expected to reach
80,000 by 2014 with the park’s ongoing growth.
Smart Village is also becoming an important center for education, with the American University in Cairo
(AUC) and Nile University opening headquarters there. They are offering IT programs, post-graduate
diplomas, as well as soft-skills and management courses.
The Smart Village model is now being used to setup and provide technical support for S&T Parks around
the developing world such as Tema ICT Park in Ghana and the future Bishkek Technology and Business
Park in Kyrgyzstan Republic.
Ras Muhammad National Park
Nestled in the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, Ras

Muhammad National Park is a marine reserve that is home to
some of the best and most diverse coral reefs in the world.
The 480 Km2 park has more than 220 species of coral reefs, 125
of which are soft corals. In some areas, the coral reef is 9 km
wide. It is home to around 1000 species of fish, 40 species of
star fish, 25 species of sea urchins, more than a 100 species of
mollusc, and 150 species of crustaceans.
About two hectares of mangrove forest cover a 1.1 Km shallow channel at the southernmost end of Ras
Muhammad peninsula. Near the mangrove and approximately 150 m inland, there are open cracks in
the land, caused by earthquakes.
The park also has large populations of the threatened and endemic White-eyed Gull (Larus
leucophthalamus) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). The threatened Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and
Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate) occur off Ras Muhammad regularly. The threatened mammal
population includes the Dorcas Gazelle (Gazella dorcas).
Beautiful beaches, extraordinary coral reefs and exciting dive sites make Ras Muhammad National Park
a worthwhile visit.

Conference Program:
An international conference program committee was put together with individuals representing all
regions of the world, with a bit of extra emphasis on Arab and African ownership of the program. This
very energetic committee has put in place what we believe to be very exciting program ideas. Their
future role will be to further focus program ideas, to choose session producers and speakers, and to
make sure that this will be an unforgettable event.
Suggested themes:
 Developing Science Journalism: Bigger Ideas, Smaller World

 Science Journalism Under Development: Challenge, Change, Connection
Possible plenaries:
The program committee has come up with some innovative ideas for holding plenaries. Here are some
of the ideas that were brought up:
 One of the sessions could be a plenary panel, a debate or even a crafted hypothetical focusing on
the conference’s key theme, instead of a single plenary speaker. This could also involve members of
the audience in a strategic way - e.g. weave in participants from the audience throughout, so as to
set the tone for interactivity.
 A working journalist who's a good talker, and who has a compelling personal story to tell about a
story or area they've covered, with lessons or inspirations for us all. Or a journalist with a story on
the power of a particular medium
 A dynamic and pragmatic journalism educator/professor from one of the countries in the region.
 A person who can talk from a media ethics or media studies perspective on a critical area or case-
study of science coverage.
 A digital media officianado or analyst who can really talk to the challenges and opportunities for
science journalists, but who can think about it in a range of country settings, realities and contexts.
Plenaries/keynotes will be given by a combination of science journalists and scientists. Focus will be
given to speakers from the Arab world, Africa, and the developing world. The names listed below are
only suggestions and the program committee will later focus on finding other names and perhaps some
of the developing world’s hidden talents.

 Dr. Ahmed Zewail [California Institute of Technology], winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
for his work on atomic scale dynamics of the chemical bond using ultrafast lasers.
 Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague, United States
 Sunita Surain, a writer and Director of the Centre for Science and the Environment in New Delhi
 Ragnar Levi, editor of a textbook on medical journalism, Sweden
 Dr. Zahi Hawwas [head, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt]
 Atul Gawande, physician and talented science writer, Harvard University
 Stephen Lewis, former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, founder of the Stephen Lewis
Foundation: http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/about_who.htm
 Dr. Farouk El-Baz [Remote Sensing Center, Boston University and former science advisor to late
Egyptian President Sadat]
 Dr Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of Bibiotheca Alexandrina
 Dr Mostafa El-Sayed, Egyptian living in the US and is now working with his son Ivan, of the University
of California San Francisco, to develop cylindrical gold nanorods that can bind to cancer cells
 Sergey Kapitsa, physicist and renowned Russian science promoter. A laureate of Kalinga UNESCO
prize, a son of the Nobel laureate in physics Piotr Kapitsa.
 Alexander Gordon, a TV journalist, showman, play-writer and actor. He is very popular for his TV-
show made in 2001-2003 dedicated to hard-core science.
 Brian Wynne, co-writer of Misunderstanding Science and author of Citizen Science
PROFESSIONAL TRACKS:
Science journalism and development:
 Raising the bar: ethical dimensions in science journalism
 Science journalism and scientific development –Should journalists promote regional scientific
development and what ethical issues does that raise? Are science journalists science
advocates/activists? Should they be? Can this be avoided and how?

 Science journalism is aimed at targeting lay public and to insert and explain rationality in their day to
day life. But is there any influence of science journalism on the work of scientists in developing
countries? A case study examination of science reporting changing the science itself.
 Is science journalism a substitute for science education? A look at science literature across nations
and expectations by both scientists and journalists about what science communication can do to
help. Should include a serious evaluation of the state of education itself.
 Politics and science – A combination of case-study and analysis looking at politics within science and
the pressures of governmental action on honest science communication. What is the role of science
journalists in highly political stories with a science angle?
 Conflict reporting – What is the role of science journalists in reporting wars and other man-made
disasters?
 Science journalism and gender: how can both women AND men create a balance between the high
demands of a science journalism career and family?
 Case studies about the difference between Arab science journalism and developed countries’ science
journalism.
Resources and Associations:
 Science journalists associations and networks: The number

of science journalists associations and networks is growing
very fast. What is their contribution to science journalism?
What are their difficulties? What is their future? And is their
proliferation entirely good: Are we as journalists (who are
for the most part solitary animals) creating more
competition for ourselves through creating these
associations? With advice on making use of the benefits of
associations and avoiding the pitfalls.
 The North-South cooperation in science journalism: We know very much about North-South
cooperation in science. Do we have some experiences in science journalism? Some models? Original
cases? And, is there any concrete result? What are the side effects (good and bad)?
 How accountable are science organizations/institutions in dissemination of information: A look at

how this works in developing countries, where there is sometimes a failure to release information,
compared to developed countries.

 Scientists’ attitudes toward science journalism - Case studies across different countries. Is it
welcomed, rebuffed, manipulated? How do scientists and how do our public see this operation?
What are the results of new efforts to train scientists as communicators to represent their
institutions well?
 How to Cover a Changing World – workshop on the status of the science, resources, etc.
 Association Initiatives: current Africa Science Academies Development Initiative (ASADI) that links the
US National Academy of Science to a number of African Academies. Case studies of this and other
such programs.
 Region-specific: Sessions that provide an opportunity for journalists gathered from different regions
to discuss their unique issues. Forums might include Arab journalists, African, North American, Latin
American, Asian and European.
The art and craft of the science story:
 Beginners – A series of master classes for young science journalists: how to report on sensible and
controversial topics, how to sell their stories, how to deal with science PR-people, online reporting,
what qualifies as a science story…
 Block that metaphor: metaphors, analogies, and other science writing tricks to treat with care.
 How to make science interesting: the unique challenges of the business, with an emphasis on
illuminating challenge specialties like math and physics
 What does the public really want? Understanding our

audiences, their issues, and how they shape - and are
frustrated by - science journalism
 Redefining the experts: A session to critically explore

who we call an "expert" and to consider that what we
consider to be "lay" voices can sometimes be more "expert" on an issue than might be assumed.
Reviewing issues raised by the establishment of Science Media Centres in the UK and Australia, who
apply specific categories to what they call an "expert" voice on a scientific issue (and who they then
recommend to journalists as commentators on issues of scientific controversy).
 The Visible Scientist conundrum – related to above session on experts. Famous scientists, media
savvy scientists, often become the scientific spokespersons for research issues. How do journalists
find ways to give fair weight to other, less available, more junior scientists who might actually have
fresher ways to explore an issue?

 Lost in translation: Dealing with issues such as poor translation and inaccuracy in science stories
translated from English and with the universal problem of turning scientific jargon into something
comprehensible.
 Dr. A says, Dr. B says – a question of balance in science reporting. How to qualify sources and
evaluate the real issues in a story. What is the fine line between realistic perspective and media bias?
 Literary/narrative journalism – The techniques for making a good story a remarkable one, with an
emphasis on storytelling across different media platforms. Innovative writing, radio, multimedia,
broadcast, all relevant skills for the journalists of the future.
 Reaching our audience: Are we writing/talking for someone that is in our mind and not necessarily
the actual public? How to engage young readers who read (listen, view) stories differently from older
readers in a context of audience issues and trying to understand what the public really wants. How
do we know our audiences, how do we "speak" to them? Where will they access our stories (Twitter,
social networking sites, etc)?
 Digging deeper: understanding science to better understand the story, with an emphasis on
philosophy of science. An exploration of science and the evolution of scientific thought and
methodology.
 Crafting your medium: realizing the potential of radio and TV
 The Medium is the Message: Case studies, tips, pointers from outstanding broadcast journalists.
 The power of your medium: Science radio that really works, or Science TV that really works! Which
would include putting the new science broadcast operations into their full spectrums, with emphasis
on developing those technical/craft skills core to radio/film/photography.
Investigative Journalism:
 The basics - a workshop in techniques, case studies, areas of science that need an investigative
approach, interviewing skills, computer assisted reporting, and other useful resources.
 Pseudoscience – How to recognize it, prove it, report it.
 Investigating the investigators – Is all reporting trustworthy? What about reporters who take NGO
money or pharmaceutical companies who pay journalists to place stories?
 Just call me super-journalist: science reporting that saves lives; case studies that examine journalism
in the service of public good.

 Evidence-based reporting: Workshop. How to analyze a journal report or presentation, useful
statistics and methodology, resources for evaluating evidence. Also the issue of scientists
manipulating journalists who don’t really understand the science. And an analysis of whether the fact
that science is mainstream and peer-reviewed is always a guarantee of quality work.
Future of Science Journalism:
 Finding our niche: Why do we need science journalists? How do we play to our strengths? Do science
journalists need to be journalists more and communicators less?
 Building skills for the future. A two-day workshop that looks at reporting across media and offers
training in some of the fundamentals of digital journalism and audiovisual/visual story telling.
 Reinventing the markets – Blogs, foundations, on-line start ups, social networking sites, niche
magazines, reconfigured newspapers; the places we’ll be writing for next. With resource training on
how to use the new tools and use them well.
 Are scientists now competitors? Researchers who blog and write about their own research and other
trends and risks in alternate sources beyond journalists.
 Public relations and gate-keeping – blessing or curse? Has the rise of public relations in science
communication made it easier or harder to get good journalism done?
SCIENCE REPORTING TRACK:
Water, Too Much, Too Little, How to Makes Sense of the Contradiction
 Water shortages: A workshop providing information on

both the science and politics of water resources, looking
not only at climate and geology, but also at population
distribution and growth pressures on arid regions
 Water scarcity in different regions – can science help?

Information for journalists on promising technologies and
new scientific approaches to both use and conservation.
 Sea level rise: What’s the future for small islands? What
are the costs for the developing world?
 Melt, Melt, Drip, Drip: What do the shrinking polar ice caps mean for the rest of us?

The Future of Agriculture
 Can we feed the world? A session to assess what the science really says and how journalists can both
acquire and report a realistic assessment
 Impacts of climate change on agriculture – Journalistic case studies from both north and south
 GMO and other science innovations in growing food – The science, the attitudes, the regional
differences
 Biofuel… which is more important: Food or Fuel? A workshop focusing on ethics both in the research
itself and in media coverage of an issue which puts the question of diminishing fossil fuel resources
against world hunger.
 Economics of agricultural success – who really controls the money that feeds the world and how do
journalists discover and make use of that information?
Global Climate Change and Other Environmental Challenges
 Connecting the dots – Journalists from different regions make presentations and allow us to link and
extrapolate the state of the planet
 Find me an expert: As climate change reaches a new level of scientific consensus, who are the go-to
researchers and do they really agree with each other?
 Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy – What are the realistic fixes for the problems and how do we
report them?
 What does science tell us about our ability to adapt to climate change – lessons from the past,
looking for instance at societies that outlasted severe weather challenges and those that appear to
have been crippled by them.
 Climate change and the developing world: how are we affecting it and what are the impacts?
 Workshops composed of case studies of environmental challenges from various parts of the world
The Rise of Global Pandemics:
 Reporting a pandemic: swine flu, bird flu, etc. A workshop connecting politics, environment, social
issues and the world’s medical systems.
 A primer on viruses – What is the basic biology of a virus? Why can some be eradicated and some
not, which are increasing, why are we at risk from some animals and not others?

Reporting on the world’s stubborn infections:
 Hepatitis C: the scourge of Egypt
 Trachoma
 Malaria
 Bilharzia
 HIV/AIDS
Arab Science, from the past to the present
 Brain drain: how do we bring immigrant scientists back to the developing world?
 Ancient Egyptian science. The Gap between fathers and sons.
 History of Science - Tracing the origins of science in the Arab world
 Contemporary Arab science: how can Arabs regain ancient glories?
 Science and technology cities: are they the solution to all our problems?
 Importing “Western” science and scientists to the Arab world: is this working or creating larger
problems?
Discovering ancient worlds: the latest discoveries in Africa and the Arab world
 The latest in archeology, paleontology, geology – with related field trips
 Folk medicines proved right – a look at the history of medicine in Africa and how much of it was
proven right? With an ethical companion session on: Who owns the cures?
 The science of the Pharaohs: Lessons from Dynasties of the Past
Other possibilities in health and medicine:
 Debated topics: Stem Cells and Organ Transplants
 Mobile phones: are they damaging the brain?
 Covering chronic diseases: cancer, diabetes, and heart disease
Other general:
 The evolution of governance of science and technology

Financial Strategy:
The Arab Science Journalists Association will work closely with several organizations to raise funds for
this conference. Already, and as you have seen from the letters of support we have received, there are
commitments to sponsor scholarships for journalists, fund guest speakers, organize sessions and provide
trainers, organize and fund field trips, and host meals.
The Arab Science & Technology Foundation’s (ASTF) Cairo office will be responsible for organizing the
logistics of this conference and will help with fundraising and marketing. As a result, a deal will be made
with ASTF-Cairo such that they receive a percentage of the funds/sponsorships they raise.
ASJA will work closely with its American partners, NASW and CASW, to raise U.S. funds for the
conference.
ASJA will also discuss funding and sponsorship with organizations that have been committed to
sponsoring/funding previous World Conferences for Science Journalists.
ASJA is committed to raising funds from within the Arab world. Already, the Qatar Foundation has
expressed interest in discussing several possibilities for their involvement in this. So has the Islamic
World Academy of Sciences, the scientific arm of the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC). We also
intend to contact local and regional companies who have an interest in supporting science and its
communication.
The cultural and scientific branches of foreign embassies in Egypt will also be approached. Already the
British Council and the German DAAD have expressed interest in supporting the conference as seen in
their letters of support. It is hoped that through these institutions funding will be found for scholarships
for citizens of these countries (journalists and students of journalism) and to bring in guest speakers.
WCSJ7 will be highly publicized in both public and private Egyptian universities. Journalism students will
be particularly encouraged to attend the conference and will be offered reduced registration fees.
The support of Egyptian government institutions will be vital to the success of this conference. Several
have already promised their support.
The most important among these is the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, the
branch of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research responsible for Egypt’s S&T budget.
They have offered to hold the conference under their auspice as well as financial support. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs has provided a letter offering logistical support for the conference as well as
facilitating Visa procedures for delegates coming to Egypt from abroad. Further efforts to obtain GoE
patronage of the conference will be made once the bid is won.
The Arab Science & Technology Foundation will provide a separate bank account for the purpose of this
conference. The bank account will be administered by ASTF accounting staff but will be readily
accessible by the conference director.

Commitments:
ASJA is committed to:
 find funding to bring a large number of developing world journalists to this conference,
 find funding to support the attendance of journalism students from different regions of the
world,
 make the conference registration fees within the means of journalists and students of
journalism,
 provide time in the program and facilities for two meetings of the General Assembly of the
WFSJ,
 support the attendance (travel, per diem, hotel and registration) for the seven members of the
WFSJ Executive Board, and to
 give one third of any eventual conference surplus to the WFSJ. We understand that if this
contribution is at least ten times the maximum annual membership fee of $300 USD, ASJA and
NASW’s annual WFSJ fee will be waived for 10 years.
We would like to thank Mohammed Yahia for designing and putting this bid document
together.
Disclaimer:
We have no rights to reproduce any of the pictures used in this document.
This document is not for public dissemination.

Cairo Bid

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Cairo Bid

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The Arab Science Journalists Association

The National Association of Science Writers (U.S.)

is happy to present this

Bid to host the

7th World Conference for Science Journalists

In Cairo, Egypt in 2011

 Egypt boasts 18 government universities; 21 private universities, academies and learning

 Cairo is purported to be the cultural capital of the Arab world.

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 1

On behalf of the bid committees,

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 2

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 3

Board members (organized alphabetically by first name):

Magdy Said, Egypt (ASJA President)

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 4

Dr. Abdalla A. Alnajjar

Prof. Nihad Mohamed El Chazly

Prof. Fakhreddine Othman Karray

Dr. Issa Eid Batarseh

Dr. Osama O. Awadelkarim

Prof. Badiaâ Lyoussi

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 5

Dr. Ibrahim Elfadel

Prof. Moza Al-Rabban

Dr. Mowafak M. Al-Jassim

Prof. Fathi Hassan Ghorbel

The National Association of Science Writers (U.S.):

Mariette DiChristina Gerosa, president

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 6

Peggy Girshman, treasurer

Ron Winslow, secretary

Beryl Lieff Benderly

Kelli Whitlock Burton

Robin Marantz Henig

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 7

Tinsley Davis, executive director

Lynne Friedmann, editor

Russell Clemings, cybrarian

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 8

1. Magdy Said, President of the Arab Science Journalists Association

(and – in alphabetical order):

3. A. Assa’edi, Assistant Regional Director, WHO-EMRO

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 9

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 10

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 18

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 19

Professor Dr. Adnan Al-Hamoui

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 20

Members of the bid executive committee in Cairo are:

Nadia El-Awady – Bid Coordinator

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 58

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 59

Bid/Conference Program Committee:

The bid/conference program committee includes:

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 60

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 61

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 62

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 63

Cairo Bid – Confidential Document 64

Conference Steering Committee:

The conference steering committee (in alphabetical order) is formed of:

 Abdalla Alnajjar, President of the Arab Science & Technology Foundation

The steering committee will be responsible for: