Over and out from Helsinki

Our headline comes from radio communication where this phrase is used to announce that the station in question will stop transmitting and yield to the next one.

With this newsletter, we would like not only to thank you, but also to send our final greetings and send the WCSJ wagon towards Seoul in South Korea.

After the last-minute travel changes and on-site registrations, the final number of attendees at the WCSJ2013 was 807 from 77 countries. Well over 50 sessions, workshops and plenary talks were held, social events ranged from cocktails aboard an Ice Breaker to traditional Finnish dancing on an open-air stage. The most far-away destination was a comet speeding through the outer solar system – but only through presentations given at the Old Observatory of Helsinki.

The hectic celebration of science communication, rich with voices from all over the globe, was finally concluded with a fiery party at the Heureka Science Centre.

Global WCSJ2013

This was surely the most connected World Conference of the Science Journalists. The WCSJ2013 was followed online by thousands of twitter users and the audience of the webcasts was during the events was around 750 viewers; we had a bigger audience around the world than we had in the Great Hall of the University.

The recordings are still online and the versions without flash will be added on Tuesday. Just click on wcsj2013.org/webcast to relive the plenary talks, panels and ceremonies.

The only major hiccup during the conference (as far as we know) was related to internet use: the network, specifically upgraded for the WCSJ, was in such heavy use that it was occasionally slow and the connections dropped.

Once the whole network crashed when an attendee, with hundreds of Skype contacts, opened his laptop and started to update the contacts. The situation varied according to location and time, but we acknowledged the problem, tried to make it better and now afterwards we can only apologise.

Helsinki was a place to meet, share, learn, and connect

One of the heavy tweeters was the president of the conference, Satu Lipponen: “From professional point of view it was a privilege to see how the best science tweeters in the world do their work.”

“I think many participants got helpful insight from sessions dealing with blogs, narratives, social media, uncertainty, knowledge, and energy issues. Most enjoyable to me was to see people reflecting their daily work.”

One of the main subjects to be approached from different angles and with a variety of voices was the changing media in a changing world. A new kind of journalism, with the best from the past and now, spiced with insights into future trends by the most famous individuals in the business, was also reflected in the statement drafted during the conference and given out at the closing ceremony.

“The Helsinki statement gives perspective about the future of science journalism, which is actually quite promising,” says Satu Lipponen. “It was especially rewarding to observe how firm support the WCSJ has from top science journalist and media brands.”

The statement is available at wcsj2013.org/wcsj2013-statement.

Relive WCSJ2013!

The conference in Helsinki is now over, but the website of the WCSJ2013 will stay online with a collection of the main contents from the conference. The presentations given during the conference are being added as soon as the secretariat receives then and clears the copyright. These are available as links in the programme, after each session description.

The official photos, taken by our photographer Jouko Keski-Säntti, are available at www.flickr.com/photos/wcsj2013 and free for use with connection (and credit) to the conference. The collections of the images from the tweets are atstorify.com/WCSJ2013. The twitter community reporting from and about #WCSJ2013 is mapped on bluenod.com/tag/wcsj2013.

Loads of material and discussion can also be found on our Facebook pages:
- www.facebook.com/wcsj2013 (open page) and 
- www.facebook.com/groups/138117226391434 (closed group of WCSJ2013 attendees).

In addition to many blogs and writings online about the conference, our media partner SciDev.Net has covered the WCSJ2013 very nicely on their website:
- WCSJ2013: Day One
- WCSJ2013: Day Two
- WCSJ2013: Day Three

All material from and about the conference is being added to our website; please let us know if something you have written or a story that we have not noticed is not yet on the list. An email to our (still working) secretariat, a tweetwith a link or a posting to one of our Facebook sites about your article, programme or posting is highly appreciated!

See you in South Korea!

The WCSJ2015 was bid in Helsinki by Kenya, South Africa and South Korea, and finally – as only one can win – the board of the World Federation of the Science Journalists selected Seoul for the next conference.

“South Korea in 2015 will continue to work for this community. The World Federation is at an exciting phase, as it is a leading non-governmental organisation for science journalists,” states Lipponen.

“I’d like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the supporters, participants, volunteers and speakers of the conference. You made this event – even eyed with critical questioning – a great success! See you in Seoul!”

The online service of the WCSJ2013 and the whole team behind the WCSJ2013 also sends their warmest thanks to all who took part in the conference, on site or online, around the world: thank you for making the 8th World Conference of the Science Journalists so wonderful experience!

With best regards,

WCSJ2013 organisers

WCSJ2013 was organised by Finnish Association of Science Editors and Journalists and the World Federation of Science Journalists with substantial aid from the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland and University of Helsinki.

The conference was generously supported by: