Vasily Pushkov, Director of International Cooperation, Sputnik International News Agency and Radio.

Good afternoon, colleagues. I am delighted to be joining today's meeting of the International Union for Science and Technology Communication (IUSTC). My name is Vasily Pushkov and I represent the Sputnik International News Agency and Radio.

Let me briefly remind you who we are. Sputnik is part of the Russian media group Rossiya Segodnya, launched on November 10, 2014. The agency provides coverage of international political and economic events, targeting an international audience. Sputnik offers websites in 32 languages, analogue and digital radio broadcasting in more than 90 cities across the globe as well as newsfeeds in English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese and Farsi. Sputnik information resources have an audience of 50 million monthly visitors; its following on social media exceeds 26 million. In September 2021, the agency gained over 42 million unique visitors and over 158 million unique views.

Sputnik's products include news feeds, websites, social media, mobile apps, and radio broadcasts. Headquartered in Moscow, the agency runs a network of multimedia press centers and has regional hubs in key regions and countries, including the United States, India, China, France and Egypt.

Sputnik became a member of IUSTC in September 2018, at the invitation of Keji Ribao. As you remember, the IUSTC inauguration ceremony took place during the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Forum on International Communication, which highlighted the importance of developing international exchanges of science news.

Sputnik is represented by Sputnik China Chinese-language outlet, which is highly active in the exchange of materials within IUSTC; its audience incudes about 25,000 unique visitors per day and about 3 million views per month. It is especially worth noting that its following on Weibo has reached 11.5 million, making Sputnik China one of the most popular foreign media in that country. Since its inception, Sputnik China has been active in developing partnerships with Chinese media in all areas.

Exchanging scientific materials between the media has great practical importance as it contributes to the popularization of science among readers and enables the research community to demonstrate its new discoveries and current projects to society more widely and fully. Its importance is especially difficult to overestimate during the pandemic, when it is vital to raise awareness of the virus, the disease it causes and the need for vaccination.

Keji Ribao (Science and Technology Daily) is Sputnik’s largest science news partner in China. Our cooperation started in the summer of 2016 when we signed a Cooperation Agreement in Moscow. Mr. Li Ping, President of Science and Technology Daily (vice-ministerial level) headed the Chinese delegation. The parties agreed to exchange scientific materials once a week. Sputnik's publications appear in a special section on innovations in Russia and often attract the attention of other major Chinese media; about 500 articles have been published over five and a half years. The exchange has now evolved into a steady and effective mechanism that enables audiences in both countries to learn more about significant innovations and scientific developments. The two media outlets have implemented a number of special editorial projects. In 2019, an expert from Sputnik wrote an article on the results of cooperation between the two countries’ universities specifically for Keji Ribao; in November 2020, Sputnik streamed a video lesson for children about tokamak nuclear reactors prepared by Keji Ribao journalists and leading scientists from the two countries.

Cooperation between Keji Ribao and Sputnik is a vivid example of general news outlets and specialized media effectively working together to promote scientific topics in the international information landscape and further develop this practice. In this regard, we are very pleased that our partners are actively engaging us in international discussions such as, for example, the World 5G Convention, where Sputnik experts have been sharing their views on the use of advanced media technologies for two years.

Special events promoting the exchange of science news also deserve a mention here. Sputnik organizes press tours to leading research institutes in Russia. Chinese journalists make good use of this opportunity to learn about the latest developments first-hand. Over the years, journalists from the world's leading media have taken part in our press tours. In addition, the agency shares science and innovation stories via videoconferences and at news conferences. 

Summing up, I would like to invite my colleagues to consider the possibility of organizing an expert video conference next year on promoting science news in the international information landscape. Those who are interested will be able to make reports or join as listeners. Thank you for your attention.

(Speech at the 2021 IUSTC Meeting by Vasily Pushkov, Director of International Cooperation, Sputnik International News Agency and Radio.)