Bill Gates to deliver Covid keynote at Congress 2020

Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is to speak at this year’s World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP) about the fight against Covid-19.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided funding to improve detection, isolation and treatment efforts; protect at-risk populations in Africa and South Asia; accelerate the development of vaccines, drugs and diagnostics; and minimise social and economic impacts of the virus.

His keynote interview on the topic will be moderated by medical journalist Dr Mercy Korir and presented as part of the online event being held from 8-10 December.

The annual event brings together leading international creators of science, history and natural history content with top broadcasters, OTT platforms and digital publishers. This year’s program will explore future trends in specialist factual production and distribution across all media platforms, including television, VR, online, gaming, AR and film.

“Bill Gates has been a vital and trustworthy voice during the most difficult and challenging periods of our lifetime. He’s been an unwavering champion of science and science communication and we’re privileged to have him speak to Congress members during this year’s virtual event,” said Paul Lewis, conference director for WCSFP.

“With the lives of millions at stake, I can’t imagine a more important talk or a more relevant speaker for our international delegates whose work is critical to the public’s understanding of science and science literacy.”