The International Conference of Science & Technology Journalists (TOKYO 2001) was held between October 24 and 26, 2001 at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Nippon Kagaku Miraikan) in Aomi, Tokyo. The event was co-organized by the Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST), which daily promotes both basic science and technology research and understanding among the general public of science and technology, and the Japanese Association of Science and Technology Journalists (JASTJ), which endeavors to monitor and raise the quality of science and technology journalism.
As science and technology advances, concern over environmental destruction grows as the worldÕs population increases. What will happen to our society and the environment in the 21st Century? Will there be enough food and energy resources? Will the problems of poverty and exploitation in developing countries be solved? The future is also uncharted territory for medical progress and the information society. Under these circumstances, Japan - a country endeavoring to become a science and technology innovator - must, in order to resolve these issues and create a safe and secure society in the new century, produce a large number of top-class science and technology specialists, as well as increase public interest in and understanding of science and technology.
As Japan endeavors to achieve these aims, journalists will play a greater role in linking the science and technology world and the general public. To create a better society, science and technology journalists must engage in high-quality journalism, providing a communication channel between the science and technology world and society that enables members of the general public to deepen their knowledge and understanding of science and technology. Thus, as part of the search for communication channels between the world of science and technology and the general public that are appropriate for the new century, it was decided to hold an international conference with the theme "Seeking Trends in Science & Technology Journalism for the 21st Century."
This conference featured 15 guest speakers
and panelists from the United States, the
United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, India, Canada,
Switzerland, Columbia, and Hungary, in addition
to speakers and panelists from Japan, and
attendance by approximately 350 participants
from 10 countries facilitated spirited debate.
This report provides a summary of the conference's
achievements. Our deepest thanks go to the
many supporting organizations whose efforts
facilitated the conference's success, and
especially to the Japan Science Foundation,
which acted as conference secretariat.
During the conference, it was proposed that
preparations get underway for the establishment
of the World Federation of Science Journalists
(WFSJ). Plans were also made for a Third
World Conference of Science Journalists in
Brazil in Autumn 2002. Above all, however,
it gives me great pleasure to be able to
report that this conference has greatly strengthened
ties among the world's science and technology
journalists.
December 2001 Kenji Makino
President, Japanese Association of Science
and Technology Journalists (JASTJ)
Kazuki Okimura
President, Japan Science and Technology
Corporation (JST)
On behalf of the organizers
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