EurekAlert!, the global science news service operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), is pleased to announce five recipients of the 2013 AAAS-EurekAlert! Fellowships for International Science Reporters.
The fellowships are intended to help support excellence in science communication worldwide by providing science reporters with the opportunity to cover the latest research, and to network with peers from around the world. Five accomplished science journalists from Latin American countries have been selected to participate in the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting (www.aaas.org/meetings), 14-18 February in Boston, Mass., USA. Sponsorship for the 2013 fellowships is provided by EurekAlert!. The fellowship pays for travel, lodging and meals at the AAAS Annual Meeting.
"I admire the efforts of AAAS to communicate science. Attending the AAAS Annual Meeting will not only greatly benefit my personal work, but will also give me the chance to foment public engagement with science in Brazil -- a country where science output has been growing at a fast pace," Sofia Moutinho, a science journalist with Ciência Hoje in Brazil, shared upon receiving the 2013 fellowship.
The fellowships were originally launched in 2004 with a seed grant from the William T. Golden Endowment Fund for Program Innovation. It brought 10 reporters from China to the 2004 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle. Subsequent fellowships have sponsored reporters from the Middle East, China, Africa, Central and South America.
The recipients of the 2013 fellowships are:
Sofia Moutinho, Ciência Hoje, Brazil Victoria Renata Sanchez Hernandez, QUO magazine, Mexico Marcos Chumpitaz Sanchez, Publimetro, El Comercio, SOMOS Magazine, Peru Lucas Viano, La Voz del Interior, Argentina Alejandra Vargas Morera, La Nacion, Costa Rica
"The [fellowship] is a unique opportunity to attend a very important conference and to know details of the most important advances in science… This experience will also provide me expertise to address scientific news of my country within a global context," commented Lucas Viano.
The theme of the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting is The Beauty and Benefits of Science. In keeping with this theme, and the mission of both AAAS and EurekAlert!, the reporter fellowship seeks to promote international scientific dialogue and advance the communication of science news to the global public.
"Being part of the AAAS Annual Meeting will serve as a tool to continue generating knowledge and educate many people," Marcos Chumpitas Sanchez added. "I am convinced that there are no limits to the beauty and benefits of science. [This meeting] is a great chance to be in contact with important science sources, which help us change the world we live in."
More information about the 2013 fellowship winners is available at http://www.eurekalert.org/fellows. The website will also publish meeting coverage by each of the fellows.
About AAAS
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org) as well as Science Translational Medicine (www.sciencetranslationalmedicine.org) and Science Signaling (www.sciencesignaling.org). AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more.
About EurekAlert!
Founded by AAAS in 1996, EurekAlert! is an editorially independent, online news service focused on science, medicine and technology. Thousands of reporters around the globe use EurekAlert! to access news and resources from the world's top research organizations. For free access to EurekAlert!, visit www.EurekAlert.org.