CENARIUM network takes part in three panels at International Journalism Congress
10 de July de 2025
By Lucas Thiago – From Cenarium
MANAUS (AM) – Communication professionals from the CENARIUM network will participate in the 20th International Congress of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji), taking place from July 10 to 13 at the Álvaro Alvim campus of the School of Higher Education in Advertising and Marketing (ESPM) in São Paulo. The media outlet, headquartered in Manaus and supported by a network of correspondents in the main cities of the Amazon, will take part in three panels during the event.
Abraji’s congress is considered the largest gathering of journalists in the country and is held in a hybrid format. The first participation of CENARIUM will take place this Thursday, the 10th, at 9:30 a.m., when the outlet’s general director, Amazon Society and Culture expert Paula Litaiff, will join the panel How to cover the Amazon safely: protecting journalists and sources. The activity will also include journalist Steffanie Schmidt from the website O Varredouro.
In this discussion, registered participants will learn about the risks of reporting in the Amazon, how to ensure the safety of sources, what ethical precautions are needed when covering Indigenous territory, and how this coverage has changed since the administration of former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022), who was hostile to the work of professional journalism.
Journalist Paula Litaiff points out that the challenges of covering the Amazon are particularly complex and require stricter safety protocols, both for reporters and the sources who share information. As founder of CENARIUM, she also highlights land conflicts, environmental crimes driven by illegal mining and poaching, and constant violations of Indigenous rights as some of the main obstacles faced during reporting in the region.
“Although the last few years have seen a drop in the total number of attacks on press professionals, the data also shows an increase in the most serious cases, with reports of physical assaults, threats, intimidation, equipment destruction, and severe cyberthreats. This needs to be discussed, so that journalists can find ways to protect themselves. On the other hand, it’s essential to guarantee society’s constitutional right to be informed,” she stated.
Photojournalism and climate
CENARIUM photojournalist Ricardo Oliveira will also be one of the network’s professionals taking part in Abraji’s congress panels. He will moderate the panel Covering the climate crisis through photojournalism and audiovisual storytelling. The session will discuss the role of visual journalism in covering the climate crisis.
With images, the debate aims to provide a visual representation of environmental impacts that can raise public awareness, influence policies, and amplify local voices. Ethical and technical challenges in capturing and using images will also be addressed, along with strategies for impactful visual storytelling.
The panel moderated by Oliveira will feature speakers Mariana Greif, a documentary photographer and videomaker from Uruguay; Michael Kodas, senior editor at Inside Climate News and advisor to the Society of Environmental Journalists; and, remotely, Indigenous filmmaker Takumã Kuikuro.
COP30
On Saturday, the 12th, the panelists representing CENARIUM will be current editorial coordinator Adrisa de Góes, the network’s correspondent in Belém Fabyo Cruz, and CEO Paula Litaiff. The team will lead the panel Covering the Amazon in the year of COP30: a guide for local sources, which will discuss how journalism can prepare the public for the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).
The event will be held from November 10 to 21 this year in Belém (PA), aiming to share strategies, sources, data, and narratives for relevant, informative, and innovative coverage. The congress is an initiative that helps the public understand the role of journalists in upholding the right to information through the themes presented by participants.
