Reporting changing climate from an African perspective

From desertification in the north to floods in the south, from famine to the spread of malaria: Africa is a continent already heavily affected by phenomena attributed to climate change. Yet Africa’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions driving the process is minimal and the discussion around climate change is often focused on industrialized countries.

At the United Nations Climate
Change Conference (COP17) starting in Durban on November 28, DW-AKADEMIE will be supporting radio journalists to offer an African perspective on climate change for their local listeners.

The two-week workshop Reporting Climate Change will bring together journalists from eight countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia. The participants are experienced radio reporters who have taken part in previous DW-AKADEMIE courses. From Durban they will produce news reports on the latest developments at the conference and provide detailed background information on the topic of climate change.

Working closely with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Bush Radio from Cape Town and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Reporting Climate Change workshop intends to give the journalists a head start on their research. Plans include a visit to a project site of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a meeting with delegates from African countries and participation in panel discussions with experts of the UNFCCC.

DW-AKADEMIE project managers Aarni Kuoppamäki and Marc Seidel will be in Durban to lead the workshop and reports from participants will be featured on our blog in December.