Climate change training course for journalists

Policy makers and environmental groups worldwide are scrambling to prepare for the adoption of a new international climate agreement at the Paris 2015 climate summit in December. However, the very specific language of the UN negotiations and the technical complexity of climate science are not readily understood by the average citizen.

The media play a crucial role at the nexus of climate talks such as COP21, the underlying science, and public perception by providing a foundation for informed civil discourse. Nevertheless, reporting on climate change is challenging, and journalists, like the general public, often wrestle with the highly nuanced and intricate nature of both the science and the UN negotiation process.

The Climate Change Training Course for Journalists will address this very challenge with the primary aim of improving climate change relevant media coverage in the lead up to Paris 2015.

What:

• Nine-day training course in Berlin, supported by the German Foreign office and facilitated by the think tank Ecologic Institute, includes instructive training workshops on a diverse array of topics such as: “The Science of Climate Change” and “UNFCCC: How does a COP work?” All courses are designed to meet the professional needs of journalists and led by a team of experts in climate science and policy, with explicit opportunities (and time in the schedule) to report home from Berlin.
• Organized around the high-level international meeting “Petersberg Climate Dialogue,” offering participants the opportunity to attend the event as accredited press as well as the chance to meet and interview climate experts and Ministers during the Dialogue proceedings (Berlin 17/18^th May)
• All expenses paid, including travel to and from Berlin, accommodation, and meals

When/Where: May 11-20, 2015 in Berlin, Germany

Who: Application open to professional journalists and members of the press from Bangladesh, Barbados, Botswana, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Pacific Islands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Zambia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Tanzania, Turkey and Uganda via their country’s respective German Embassy. Application should include CV, letter of motivation, relevant credentials and work sample (all documents in English).

All expenses are paid, including travel to and from Berlin, accommodation, and meals. Application is open to professional journalists and members of the press reporting on matters on climate change. It should include scans of CV, letter of motivation, relevant credentials and work sample (all documents in English) and be sent to info@kampala.diplo.de by 13 April 2015.