The programme of the World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ2013) has seen a sudden reshuffle last month, with six sessions that focused on the developing world countries removed. This may end up giving the conference, held in Helsinki, Finland, a rather “Western” taste instead of a more global one.

According to SciDev.Net, the producers are now invited to take part instead in a two-hour ‘around the world’ session. The conference organizers say this decision was made due to the lack of funding to bring the session speakers and producers to Helsinki.

Two of the sessions focused on issues facing science and science journalism in Latin America, an area often vastly underrepresented in previous WCSJ, and two focused on African and non-English speaking media. The final two cut sessions were on neglected diseases and tuberculosis, which often plague developing countries.

This is truly unfortunate because from previous experiences, there is much that both journalists from the developing and the developed world can learn from each other through interactions at these professional meetings.

Science journalism is still in its infancy in the developing world, but it is growing steadily and gaining respect and momentum. The challenges that science journalists there face are very real and we (since I’m included in this part of the world) can often use all the help we can get from our counterparts from the West. On the other hand, science journalists from Africa and other developing regions bring a side of the profession to the table that many scientists in Europe or the US may be unaware of.

I was on the organizing team for the last WCSJ, held in June 2011 in Doha, Qatar, and – while things may not have gone perfect due to an abrupt movement from Cairo to Doha following the events of the Arab Spring – the fact that nearly half of attendees were journalists from the developing world brought a much needed angle to the meeting and greatly enhanced it in my opinion. A session I produced on reporting science to non-English speaking audiences, for example, shed light on a challenge that most journalists in the developed world are unaware of and generated some incredible tips and techniques that established science journalists reporting in their native languages came up with over their careers.

According to the WCSJ2013 organizers, they are working to secure more funding in order to bring as many science journalists from the developing world as possible. They have already announced scholarships available that will support travel and accommodation and conference registration for developing world science journalists.

Commenting on SciDev.Net, Jean-Marc Fleury, the executive director of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) which is co-hosting the conference, stressed that the federation is working hard with the conference organizers and other organizations to secure that a large number of science journalists from developing countries join the conference. Vesa Niinikangas, president of the WFSJ, also commented saying that the “developing world is not being purged from the WCSJ2013” and pointing out the various sessions that have speakers from the developing world and with a focus that can be important to these regions of the world.