About

SciBraai satisfies South Africa’s growing hunger for local and credible science news. We publish data-driven, multimedia, multi-platform science journalism and digital storytelling in English, isiZulu, and Afrikaans, free to republish by local media.

---

Why We Exist

Media outlets can no longer afford to employ dedicated science journalists, let alone whole science desks. Yet SciBraai’s science journalism, science communication, and outreach activities since 2013 show that South Africans do have an appetite for local science news – we’ve built a platform and an audience, and now our volunteers work hard to produce multimedia content, including independent and data-driven science journalism, in English, isiZulu, and Afrikaans.

We’re doing this because:

1. Complex data and research around socio-economic issues like the environment, health, and technology remain inaccessible to the public and the media. An informed and scientifically literate citizenry supports evidence-based decision-making for themselves and the authorities they hold accountable.

2. Digital storytelling and data-driven science reporting are underdeveloped in South Africa.

3. Science journalism and science communication are severely underdeveloped in South Africa.

4. Technical and scientific language often only exists in English, making it difficult to communicate in other languages. As such, even commonly spoken and understood languages like Afrikaans and isiZulu are underserved when it comes to science journalism.