The winners of the 2026 EurekAlert! Travel Awards for International Science Reporters will attend the 2027 AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago, Ill. USA. The awards were offered to early-career and student science journalists in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. 

Arlis Alikaj

Freelance Journalist | Albania

Arlis Alikaj is an award-winning investigative journalist and environmental researcher based in Albania. He is currently a second-year Master of Science student in Environmental Protection at Aleksandër Xhuvani University. With over four years of specialized experience in science, climate, and environmental reporting across the Western Balkans, Alikaj focuses heavily on the intersection of infrastructure development, illegal logging, and ecological preservation. His investigative work has been featured in prominent regional and international media outlets, including Balkan Insight (BIRN), Citizens Channel, The Eurasian Climate Brief, and Parliament Magazine. In 2024, he also covered COP29 as a credentialed journalist through the Earth Journalism Network. Alikaj is committed to using scientific rigor, geoinformatics, and field-based investigative data to hold institutions accountable, protect local river basins like the Shkumbin, and advocate for transparent ecological standards in his home country. 

Lea Lukić

Student Journalist | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Lea Lukić is a journalist and social media manager from Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently working with Capital.ba, where she writes and publishes news stories and feature articles. Alongside reporting, she manages social media content and audience engagement, combining journalism with digital communication and multimedia storytelling. She is currently studying Multimedia Journalism at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Banja Luka. Her professional interests are especially focused on public-interest journalism and stories that connect complex social issues with everyday life. In addition to her formal education, Lukić has developed her skills through professional training and journalism programs, including the Earth Journalism Network’s 2026 Virtual Workshop on Biodiversity in the Western Balkans, Mediacentar Sarajevo’s solutions journalism training, CIN Serbia’s Quality Journalism Camp, and training in media ethics organized by the Press and Online Media Council. 

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