Day 3 of Africa's first 13th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ 2025) brought over 400 reporters from 73 countries, 58 sessions, 21 field trips, 199 speakers - together at the CSIR International Convention Centre. They shared straightforward ways science stories can build bridges – and now anyone can join online for 550 ZAR a day (about 30 USD) or 1400 ZAR (80 USD) for Days 2-4.
 

This virtual door open at wcsj.online ,  lets you watch live sessions or replay them anytime for a full year. It's a game-changer for reporters in Nairobi or New York who missed their flights. The theme? "Science Journalism and Social Justice: Journalism that builds understanding and resilience." Sessions showed why teaming up matters: African data on locust swarms helped predict outbreaks worldwide, and now AI tools from CSIR could spot food shortages early for small farms everywhere.
 

In the Diamond Auditorium, science journalists and science communication experts talked straight about their clashes – like when press releases clash with real facts. They shared tips to beat burnout, drawing from South African stories that calmed anti-migrant fears with solid data. One panel stressed: collaborate early, or risk missing the big picture on climate migrants heading north. Over in the Amethyst Room, hands-on workshops covered hot topics like new medicines and pandemics. Attendees practiced turning dry stats into stories that hit home – think youth job losses from AI in Africa's growing cities.
 

The Ruby room got into genes, germs, and hidden threats like dying wildlife – "silent storms" that link Congo's forests to the Amazon. Reporters swapped notes on community tips that caught Madagascar's locusts in time. Then, from 13:30 to 14:00, CSIR scientists demoed AI for food security. Picture apps warning farmers of dry spells, shared freely across borders, much like COVID vaccine recipes went global. These chats proved collaboration isn't optional: it turns local insights into global shields against shared woes.

Hosted by the South African Science Journalists' Association (SASJA) and Science Diplomacy Capital for Africa (SDCfA), with help from DSTI and CSIR, the conference runs to December 5. Field trips ahead include wildlife at Dinokeng, space tech at Hartebeesthoek, and fossils at DITSONG – all with online echoes. In a world where science knows no borders, this hybrid setup lets every reporter join the pact.