(WHO) Science For Factchecking Participation Training for Trainers Workshop 2023
Deadline for application: 8 December 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of managing health misinformation, which has emerged as a major challenge in today’s highly interconnected world. Health misinformation during emergencies may result into the undesirable behavioural outcomes that can be fatal or cause serious harm and risk lives.
However, the misinformation that emerges and goes viral can be due to lack of adequate understanding of the situation and misinterpretation of facts and science. Health literacy is a tool which can help communities and individuals fight against health-related misinformation. Addressing health misinformation requires that those involved in providing key information to the public in health emergencies, from health professionals including community health providers, to media educators and professionals, requires quick and easy access to the facts and the context of the facts, as well as ways to rapidly identify and respond to potential misinformation.
WHO is therefore organizing a series of training of trainers workshop for factcheckers to strengthen the voice of science, and health literacy and other skills to prevent or effectively respond to misinformation. The first of these will be focused on the Asia Pacific region, and further workshops will be focused on other regions.
The long term objective of this is to create a network of professional fact-checkers who can support local and regional efforts to halt mis-and disinformation in future health emergencies by strengthening the voice of science.
Objective of the workshop
The objective of the workshop is to train professionals involved in or interested in factchecking to enhance the voice of science to fight rising misinformation through an understanding of scientific information and its correct interpretation, and strengthen health literacy competencies to enhance the factchecking skills.
Dates for Workshop: 2.5 days, 22-24 Feb 2023
Venue: TBD
Application requirements
- Professionals from organizations, whose work includes factchecking are invited to apply. Media educators whose work include teaching fact-checking are also eligible to apply.
- Applicants must have work experience of 5+ years as in a related area, particularly in health (such as public health professional who has provided facts to the public/media educator or professional involved in checking facts) with previous experience in fact-checking and fact-checking teaching and training.
- Applications must include:
- A covering letter which includes explaining why they are interested in the workshop, why they would be suitable for the training and if selected, how they plan to train others in their organizations, regions and countries.
- Their cv, highlighting their organization and the work they do on factchecking in health emergencies
- A covering letter which includes explaining why they are interested in the workshop and why they would be suitable for the training
- For the first Training of Trainers in Bangkok, applications are invited from those working in the Asia Pacific region, in the countries covering the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions
- 12 applicants will be selected
- Selected applicants will be informed by 15 January 2023.
- Successful applicants will be provided a per diem for the days of travel, and their travel cost will be covered.
Deadline for application: 8 December 2022
Application procedure
Interested organizations and applicants should send an email to epi-win@who.int by 8 December 2022. Please indicate the project name ‘Crosscheck: Science for Factchecking participant’ in the subject line of your email.
