A Negros Oriental-based journalist has been selected to participate in a science journalism workshop hosted by the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute and the Association of Young Environmental Journalists (AYEJ).
Ryan Christopher Sorote of DYWC Radyo Bandilyo will be one of the 15 journalists who will join a course on Marine Science Communication from Dec. 12 to 17 at the UP MSI Bolinao Marine Laboratory in Pangasinan.
According to Dr. Deo Florence Onda, project leader of the Blue Beat Initiative, had informed Sorote in an email that he was “among those who stood out” in their national search for applicants.
“We are pleased to have received applications from across different backgrounds in media, journalism, government, and developmental communication,” the Blue Beat Initiative said on its Facebook page. “Hopefully, we will be able to teach science journalism to more practitioners in the future, as we are definitely just beginning in our goal of making science more accessible,” the statement said.
The five-day all-expense paid trip to UP MSI in Pangasinan aims to equip journalists with the expertise, skills, and resources to report stories on science, marine environment, and on recent scientific findings. The participants will also get to interact with marine science experts, and will be mentored by senior journalists who specialize in environment reporting.
Sorote said he is “overjoyed with the once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity”.
Sorote is a practicing journalist with over a decade of experience in broadcast, print, and online journalism. He graduated with a degree in Mass Communication in Cebu before joining the media industry. Before relocating to Negros Oriental with his family, Sorote wrote stories for The Freeman, DYWC AksyonRadyo, Rappler, Aksyon Bisaya (TV5 Cebu), CBCP News, etc. He is currently completing his graduate school thesis at Cebu Normal University, while pursuing a Masters in Pastoral Ministry (Family and Counseling) from Don Bosco School of Theology.
AYEJ Executive Director Val Amiel Vestil said the workshop is funded by UP-MSI, and implemented as training service provider by the Association of Young Environmental Journalists.
AYEJ started as an informal group of “earth warriors” and storytellers in 2017 in Dumaguete, after Vestil finished his Environmental Journalism courses at the Silliman University College of Mass , and after participating in the Academic Fellowship for Civic Engagement of the Young SouthEast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), a US flagship program in the Region. (PR)
