Raising IAIA's profile
IAIA exhibits at environmental journalists conference
In support of IAIA’s strategic efforts to extend our reach and build networks, Executive Director David Bancroft and Deputy Executive Director Bridget John represented IAIA at the 29th annual Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference held 9-13 October in Fort Collins, USA. The event was attended by over 700 journalists, professors, and NGO representatives from across the United States and Canada. David and Bridget made some great contacts, learned about some of SEJ’s information needs, and will be evaluating in the coming weeks what IAIA can do to assist environmental journalists worldwide. IAIA was one of 28 exhibitors at the event.
“Talking with the delegates and fellow exhibitors provided some great opportunities to find out what journalists’ needs are in relation to impact assessment,†said David. “We were able to raise the profile of both impact assessment and IAIA, and through our conversations, we developed some great ideas for possible resources IAIA might be able to provide in this arena.†In addition to staffing IAIA’s booth and attending a couple of sessions each, David and Bridget also participated in the event’s various networking activities, including a meet-and-greet, poster session, opening reception, and evening “Beat†dinners where smaller groups dined at restaurants and discussed a specific topic.
“We both came away from the SEJ conference with great connections,†said Bridget. “It was very helpful to look at impact assessment through a journalist’s lens, but it was also a great benchmarking experience, being the conference participant instead of the organizer, to watch how another organization runs its meetings. We are already talking about tweaks we can make to help improve future IAIA conferences.â€
Overall, attending the SEJ conference was a worthwhile event and a great first step into raising IAIA’s profile in the world of journalists.
