For the third consecutive year, LatAm Journalism Review (LJR) has compiled a list of some of the biggest events for Latin American journalists. From festivals in Cartagena to congresses in Rio de Janeiro, these gatherings will explore key trends like artificial intelligence, disinformation and community or data journalism.
Not all events take place in the region—such as the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Malaysia or the International Journalism Festival in Italy—but they still feature notable spaces for Latin American journalists. Some even offer scholarships to attend.
If there’s an event you think we should include in this list or if you’d like to provide updated information about activities, feel free to email us at latamjournalismreview@austin.utexas.edu.
We begin the list with the first festival of the year in the region: the Hay Festival in Cartagena.
From Jan. 30–Feb. 2, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, will host this gathering of literature, journalism, art and culture.
For over a decade, the Hay Festival Cartagena has developed a project on community journalism. This year’s workshops will focus on helping participants discover new ways to narrate their surroundings.
There will also be journalism workshops for university students and lectures on gender and attacks on journalism.
From Feb. 24–28, the eighth Semana del Periodismo (Journalism Week) will take place in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. This event is organized by the Foundation for Communication and Journalism (Funcope, for its initials in Spanish).
The venue is the city’s Centro de las Artes, and all activities are free of charge, with live streaming available through the foundation’s social media.
Topics will include local journalism, gender perspectives, fake news and artificial intelligence. The complete program is available here.
This event, organized by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, is a staple on our list.
The International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ), a two-day conference on journalism in the digital era. So far, ISOJ has announced 51 speakers from 19 countries will present on artificial intelligence, trust in journalism, press freedom around the world and more.
This year, ISOJ takes place from March 27–28, in Austin, Texas, and online. All plenary sessions are in English, but feature simultaneous interpretation to Spanish. Registration is now open. For more information, subscribe to the ISOJ newsletter.
The Coloquio Iberoamericano de Periodismo Digital (Ibero-American Colloquium on Digital Journalism) takes place annually the day after the end of ISOJ.
The Coloquio, as it’s casually referred to, is offered to ISOJ registrants and focuses on online journalism in Latin America, Spain and Portugal. This year, it will be held on March 29 and can be attended online or in person at the University of Texas at Austin. All panels will be in Spanish.
Speakers have yet to be announced, but those interested can stay updated by subscribing to the ISOJ newsletter.
And more information about last year's colloquium is available on the event's website.
Although not held in Latin America, the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, is a major event for journalists worldwide.
This year’s festival is scheduled for April 9–13, 2025. Applications to participate as a speaker have closed, and the final program will be online by March. Last year’s festival featured 220 sessions and 612 speakers.
Most sessions are held in English, though the final day is exclusively in Italian.
The event is free, and admission to all sessions is on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees must arrive before the session starts, as there is no reservation or registration system.
For more information, subscribe to the festival newsletter or visit their website.
From April 28–30, the XI WAPOR Latin America Congress will take place in Florianópolis, Brazil. This event gathers professionals and academics specializing in public opinion research, behavior and political communication in the region.
The theme this year is “Public Opinion, Civics, and Global Risks in Latin America.” The official venue is the Federal University of Santa Catarina.
Every year, fact-checkers from around the world gather at GlobalFact to tackle industry challenges and explore solutions for sharing reliable information.
This year’s 12th edition will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 25–27.
Applications to participate as a speaker are still open. Topics may include public policies, technology, climate change, disinformation campaigns, artificial intelligence, sustainability, gender and more.
The event is organized by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) in partnership with Aos Fatos, Lupa, Estadão Verifica and Uol Confere.
The Global Investigative Journalism Conference, held every two years, brings together investigative and data journalists from around the world.
This year, the conference will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Nov. 20–24. It is organized in collaboration with the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) and the independent news outlet Malaysiakini.
Latin American journalists can apply for scholarships offered by the network, covering airfare, hotel accommodations, most meals, and conference registration. Applications close on Jan. 31, and selected scholars will be notified via email by April 15.
The conference will feature over 150 activities, including expert panels and workshops. Topics will include advanced search online search techniques, best practices for international collaborations as well as tools and strategies for journalists in exile.
In 2024, the Conferencia Latinoamericana de Periodismo de Investigación (Latin American Conference on Investigative Journalism), organized by the Press and Society Institute (IPYS, for its initials in Spanish), crossed the Atlantic to Spain.
This year, it returns to Latin America and will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Exact dates are yet to be announced, but the event is typically held in the last quarter of the year.
During the conference, journalists from the region gain insights into the methodologies behind the year’s most significant investigative stories.
Additionally, the winners of the Javier Valdez Latin American Investigative Journalism Award, which receives over 200 submissions annually, are announced during the event. Applications open mid-year.
The 20th edition of the International Congress on Investigative Journalism by Abraji will take place from July 10–12.
All activities will be held at the Álvaro Alvim Campus of the Higher School of Advertising and Marketing in São Paulo, Brazil. Registration and ticket sales have not yet opened.
For seven years, Abraji has hosted Data Sunday the day after the congress, offering data journalism workshops and presentations on investigative methodologies.
Programs from the past two congresses can be reviewed here.
For the fourth consecutive year, Bogotá will host the Gabo Festival, one of the most significant journalism events in the region. The event will take place from July 25–27.
Organized by the Gabo Foundation, established by Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez in 1995, the festival has been awarding the Gabo Prize for outstanding journalism in the region since 2013.
This year, the foundation seeks stories that “not only expose injustice and abuses but also celebrate resilience, beauty, and humanity in the face of adversity.”
The Gabo Foundation has published video recordings of more than 20 sessions on its website.
