By Steve Werblow and Elaine Shein
Next week was supposed to be the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) 2020 World Congress in Vingsted, Denmark, bringing hundreds of agricultural journalists and communicators together for tours and workshops. Though the Congress was cancelled due to COVID-19, IFAJ is bringing friends and colleagues together through a series of webinars and meetings dubbed e-Congress Week. IFAJ represents journalists in more than 50 different countries; this is a great opportunity to participate in IFAJ activities, especially if you haven’t been able to do so in the past.
Here’s a rundown of next week’s lineup:
— Monday, June 22: 10 a.m. Eastern/9 a.m. Central: Freedom of the Press Webinar. Talking about press freedom often focuses on government repression — but even in free countries, journalists face economic pressure to kill or alter stories. Journalists and PR professionals explore the topic across continents.
— Tuesday, June 23: 5 a.m. Eastern/4 a.m. Central (ouch!) — Agricultural Journalism and Communication in a Post-COVID19 Context. This will be 90 minutes on the changing landscape of ag news.
— Wednesday, June 24: 10:00 a.m. Eastern/9:00 a.m. Central — Cooperation Across Borders. John Hansen, chair of the Danish Association of Investigative Journalism and writer for national newspaper Politiken, shares insight on reporting global stories like Wikileaks and the Panama Papers.
— Thursday, June 25: 5:00 a.m. Eastern/4:00 a.m. Central — IFAJ Delegate Assembly. This year’s annual business meeting of IFAJ includes the Presidium election, a report by the Vision 2025 Committee, and an update on the establishment process of the IFAJ Foundation.
— Friday, June 26: 10:00 a.m. Eastern/9:00 a.m. Central — A Toast To Denmark. We may not be able to toast in Denmark, but we can toast the country that has agreed to host us in 2021. Danish farmer Asger Christensen, a Member of the European Parliament, will present on Danish agriculture, we’ll have a sneak peek of the 2021 Congress program in Denmark, and enjoy the IFAJ award program. Click here to register for any or all of IFAJ e-Congress Week!