October 3rd, 2011 — The 21st Annual Conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) is going to be making headlines October 19-23 when hundreds of journalists, top scientists, celebrities, and federal, state and local government officials will gather in Miami, Florida for the first time in the society’s history. They will unveil new findings on scores of the great environmental issues of our time, and offer training to journalists working on this beat. Conference events will take place at the InterContinental Hotel, 100 Chopin Plaza in Miami. SEJ’s 2011 Annual Conference is hosted and sponsored by the University of Miami.
Because of its location, and because of the global nature of environmental problems, this SEJ conference is paying special attention to issues in Latin America and abroad. To that end, we have partnered with several associations that are making it possible to bring journalists (at least 22 of them) and speakers from those regions to benefit from and contribute to this outstanding gathering:
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) will present a series of workshops and panels in conjunction with the SEJ conference, on Saturday, October 22, targeted to the members of both organizations, and any journalist interested in examining the exciting mix of environment, journalism and Hispanic communities. One such panel is Galápagos: Challenges for the Evolution of Journalism in the Islands Darwin Made Famous (Sat. Oct. 22nd, 2:00-3:00 p.m.)
The Galápagos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands at a crossroad: To join a head-on collision with 21st Century development values — or educate residents on how to conserve the archipelago’s rich biodiversity. For the FIRST time at SEJ, a panel of Galápagos journalists* will explore the need to create media outlets and help Galapagueños become better informed about what’s at stake: threats to wildlife; a tsunami of tourists; a surge in population without sufficient infrastructure, and tighter controls over press freedom. Moderated by Galápagos native and former NAHJ President Cecilia Alvear, who is a veteran NBC News producer and a member of the Board of UNITY Journalists of Color, and Carol Ann Bassett, author of Galápagos at the Crossroads: Pirates, Biologists, Tourists, and Creationists Battle for Darwin’s Cradle of Evolution.
Bassett spent 16 years as a full-time freelance writer, contributing regularly to The New York Times and Time-Life, Inc., and was an independent producer for National Public Radio. Her work has also appeared in The Nation, Los Angeles Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Mother Jones, and dozens of other national publications. She teaches environmental writing and literary nonfiction at the University of Oregon, and led a Study Abroad Program on environmental writing in the Galápagos for three summers.
*Paula Tagle Saad is a naturalist guide who lives on Santa Cruz Island and writes a weekly column, “Desde Las Encantadas,” for the daily newspaper El Universo, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Ms. Tagle holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Engineering Geology. She started the "Kids on board program" together with Lindblad Expeditions and the Charles Darwin Research station to invite 30 Galápagos kids per month to the Lindblad ships, for half a day, for excursions and talks about the uniqueness of their home islands. She is the author of Galápagos Bedtime Stories, a book about the natural history of Galápagos for kids and kids at heart.
*Xavier Castro is a Public Information Officer for the Government of Galápagos. He is about to launch a website, “Galápagos Herald.” Mr. Castro has a degree in journalism and communications from Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia del Ecuador.
*Enrique Ramos worked as the Coordinator of Participation for the world famous Charles Darwin Foundation. He is now editor of El Colono, a Galápagos newspaper published twice a month and distributed to populated areas of the archipelago. Mr. Ramos is currently upgrading the digital version of El Colono.
*Carlos Macías is the Galápagos correspondent for Teleamazonas, a TV station in the Ecuadorian mainland. He is the President of the Colegio de Periodistas de Galápagos. He also works for the Communications Dept. of the Government of Galápagos.
Also, the NAHJ is hosting a special Environmental Justice tour, on Saturday Oct. 22 from 2:15 to 5:30 p.m.: From Field to Table: Food Security and the Struggle of those Harvesting Our Nation's Fruits and Vegetables. Just miles from the hustle and bustle of cosmopolitan Miami lies Homestead, one of a number of Florida farm communities helping to provide much of the nation’s winter harvest. Despite these farms’ proximity to the big city, getting healthy, affordable produce isn’t easy for many low-income communities in the region, or even for the very farmworkers who pick the fruits and vegetables.
We head down to Homestead to tour one innovative pilot farm/farmers’ market/residential project for the homeless set up by the Miami-based Earth Learning group, which is trying to create sustainable harvests using organic methods and permaculture while addressing issues of access for low-income communities, along with the Urban Oasis Project and other partners. While there, we will meet with farmworkers and their advocates to hear about the environmental hazards they face in providing the food we eat, and their own efforts to “go local” as part of a larger domestic fair trade movement.
This one-of-a-kind tour is being organized and led by freelance journalist Juan Carlos Pérez-Duthie and the AP’s Hispanic Affairs reporter Laura Wides.
Other key partners for SEJ in this conference are the Americas Business Council Foundation (abc*) and PODER magazine, who are bringing eight working environmental journalists, each representing important media outlets from the following Latin American countries:
Argentina: Gabriela Vizental/ Radio Continental
Brazil: Henrique Kugler/ EcoAgencia
Chile: Andrea Obaid/ Tecnociencia (radio)
Colombia: Eder Jiménez/ El Espectador newspaper
Costa Rica: Michelle Soto/ La Nación newspaper
Ecuador: Alexa Avila /El Universo newspaper
Panamá: Sofía Kosmas/ revista Panorama de Las Américas – Copa Arlines
Perú: Roxabel Huaroto/ Diario El Comercio
The abc* Foundation is a (non for-profit) think-do tank that seeks to further peace, sustainability and prosperity in the Americas by raising social and environmental awareness, while engaging leaders from the hemisphere in meaningful and impact driven social businesses that can provide tangible, compelling solutions to pressing social and environmental challenges in the region.
The abc* was created in 2008 by the PODER team in conjunction with some of the leaders of Latin American media and business (including Televisa, Univisión and Poder magazine) who desired to create a stronger culture of philanthropic engagement among the emerging leaders in the Americas. Within our founders, we have prominent business leaders including Emilio Azcárraga, Chairman and CEO, Grupo Televisa; Angélica Fuentes, President and CEO, Grupo Omnilife; Guillermo Romo, President, Grupo Mega; Jorge Vergara, Chairman, Grupo Omnilife.
And last but not least, The Center for Strategic & International Studies is inviting the following European working journalists, from well-known media outlets:
Denmark: Mette Dyrskjøt, Børsen and Steen Ulrik Johannessen, Ritzaus Bureau
Germany: Dirk Asendorpf, Die Zeit and Christopher Schrader, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Norway: Jan-Morten Bjørnbakk, Norwegian News Agency (NTB)
Spain: Catalina Arévalo, Agencia EFE and Pedro Cáceres, El Mundo
Sweden: Susanna Baltscheffsky, Svenska Dagbladet
Poland: Tomasz Ulanowski, Gazeta Wyborcza
The UK: Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian and Matt McGrath, BBC World Service
INFO: www.sej.org. Go here for conference registration information, the online agenda and its last-minute additions.
ABOUT SEJ: With more than 1,450 members working in print, broadcast and online media, the Society of Environmental Journalists is the world’s oldest and largest educational organization of news professionals dedicated to improving the visibility and quality of environmental journalism. SEJ members produce environmental news on a daily basis in all media platforms, in the United States and 27 other countries.
Advertisement 
