EQC funds science journalism award
EQC is very pleased to announce that it is funding an Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism Fund Award in 2019 in the area of natural hazards risk and resilience.
The awards provide journalists with the opportunity to spend time investigating science-related issues that matter to New Zealanders.
Dr Hugh Cowan, Director Resilience Research, says that with the pressures on journalists nowadays, it is very hard for them to get the time to do in-depth reporting, particularly in the science area.
“Natural hazard risks and how those risks can be reduced is an extremely important topic for New Zealand.
“We’re asking journalists to present ideas for articles on EQC’s key resilience goals which are stronger homes on better land, connected by infrastructure that can withstand disaster - and access to insurance – so it’s a wide area.
“Our aim is for communities to understand the natural hazard risks they face, and to be able to make informed decisions on how to reduce the impacts. A lot of scientific research has been done, but it’s not always easy to understand. Journalists play vital role in translating the science and bringing it closer to communities making these decisions.
“The Science Journalism Fund awards have so far led to major articles on everything from big data privacy issues to climate change and we are very pleased to be adding natural hazards resilience into the mix through our EQC award,” says Hugh.
You can see more about the awards at https://www.sciencejournalismfund.nz(link is external)
EQC invests $16 million in scientific research each year to help reduce the impact of natural disaster on people and property.
