The Italian association of science journalists SWIM has just announced the programme of its next annual meeting, that will take place in Naples in March 15-17.
Among the topics that will be discussed:
• the President of the Conference of Italian University Rectors, and Rector of Università Federico II, Gaetano Manfredi will discuss with ethicist Cinzia Caporale of the National Research Council about the proposal of approving national guidelines on research integrity, in a context where efforts by Universities to sanction researchers found guilty of misconduct have been succesfully fought in courts;
• the head of the charity “research4life” and professor of Università Statale di Milano, Giuliano Grignaschi, will discuss with the director general of the charity Telethon, Francesca Pasinelli, about the chilling effects of the new legislation restricting the use of animals in specific areas of medical research, that will soon come into effect;
• Silvia Polidori, policy analyst at the Scientific Foresight Unit of the European Parliament, will present the European Science-Media Hub newly launched by the European Parliament;
• the directors of all the main Italian Master schools of Science journalism and science communication will meet for the first time to discuss about their respective experiences and to take part in a round-table on how to work together with professional organisations to improve the quality of science information and of publis debate on science and technology-related topics;
• constructive journalism and climate change will be the subject of another panel, while several personal communications on work-related experiences worth sharing will enrich the program.
The meeting will be hosted at the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, established in Pozzuoli (Naples) by the charity Telethon. The location “on top of a volcano (in a highly seismic area)” will offer the opportunity to discuss on the communication on risks related to volcano eruptions and earthquakes.
The main event will be on Saturday, March 16. It will be introduced by a course on different styles and “paradigms” in science communication, held in the afternoon of Friday 15 at the Observatory of Capodimonte.
On Sunday 17, delegates will enjoy a visit to the nearby archeological area of Cuma, accompanied by researchers currently involved in archeological research (the programme is being defined).
