AfricaBio CEO, Nompumelelo H Obokoh, together with the high level of experts on biotechnology, will workshop the media on biotechnology in South Africa and Africa, at the Constantia Hotel, in Midrand, on 16 May 2012.
The half-day workshop is aimed at creating opportunities for South African media to continue to be informed and gain an understanding about the state of technological advancement in South Africa and Africa as a whole.
Media reporting on biotechnology has become one of the most effective means to educate the public about new and emerging technological innovations as well as bioscience in general. Workshops such as this are important for advancing the regular and assenting news coverage to reinforce public awareness to communicate science innovations and development to the greater public and decision-makers to assist in generating enthusiasm for technology integration and acceptance.
There is, therefore, a need to build up and work with a group of journalists that are better informed about the biotechnology, able to source, eager to research, write and publish a balanced story on biotechnology. Due to the fact that biotechnology is generally under-reported in the media in South Africa, it is necessary to expand the coverage and scope of biotechnology coverage in the SA media.
Journalists are the main source of information on technological innovations to the majority of the South African public. The workshop will consist of briefings from biotechnology experts and will be followed by questions and answer sessions with additional resources on biotechnology that the media will need to provide accurate and credible coverage of biotechnology and biosafety to the public.
Objectives of the workshop are:
* Foster objective, balanced and accurate reporting on biotechnology in the South African media.
* Enhance the capacities of South African journalists in biotechnology and biosafety reporting.
* Keep the South African media abreast and informed on the advancement of biotechnology in South Africa, Africa and other parts of the world.
* Give the journalists the opportunity to interact with small-scale farmers utilising agricultural biotechnology to improve their livelihoods.
* Provide linkages to biotech information sources and experts in South Africa.
Workshop overview
The workshop will be a half-day programme and will adopt a participatory approach to training and dialogue.
The workshop will give the journalists the opportunity to gather information in the form of presentations, discussions, and one-on-one interactions. They will be able to hear from multiple perspectives the current status of biotechnology in South Africa as well as the rest of Africa, and the various strategies and tools of communicating about biotechnology to enable South Africans to harness the benefits of biotechnology.
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AfricaBio
Located at The Innovation Hub, Lynwood, Pretoria, AfricaBio is a non-political, non-profit biotechnology association for the safe, ethical and responsible research, development and application of biotechnology and its products. It is a section 21 company, with a dedicated secretariat, CEO and board of directors. It was developed in recognition by stakeholders involved in the various biotech sectors within South Africa that as the discussions surrounding biotechnology grows, the formation of a biotechnology association for these sectors is of vital importance. The association serves as a forum for informed dialogue on biotechnological issues in Africa. AfricaBio represents all sectors within South Africa involved with, or with an interest in, all aspects of biotechnology, from retailers to growers and producers to exporters and educational institutions.
For more information, visit www.africabio.com.
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