CJID launches media fellowship on climate change

Mr White noted that the current phase of the fellowship is being organised following the success of the inaugural one.

The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has called for applications for its second climate change media fellowship for eligible media practitioners in West Africa.

Through the initiative, the media organisation said it aims to further strengthen the capacity of media and civil societies to carry out deep and impactful reporting as well as advocacy around issues related to environmental sustainability and climate change.

The fellowship, according to the organisation, is being implemented in partnership with a London-based think-tank, the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) through its Open Climate Reporting Initiative (OCRI) project.

The fellowship is expected to draw journalists, researchers, analysts and CSOs from five anglophone countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia, towards improving public awareness about the climate crisis in these countries.

The centre kicked off the project by deploying a skill survey to audit the skills of journalists in anglophone West Africa and identify areas where journalists need support.

A report containing the survey’s findings is expected to be produced to spotlight the challenges journalists go through in covering climate change and the state of its reporting in their respective newsrooms.

This report, the group said, will consequently inform a three-day training workshop to build the capacity of selected applicants to report local climate change impacts and solutions in their countries.

CJID said after the training, the successful candidates will go through a three-month fellowship programme “and participants will be supported with small grants to produce in-depth reports on the environmental impact of climate change, climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience in West Africa.”

According to the project coordinator, Daniel Whyte, climate change is a pressing issue and climate journalism plays a crucial role in addressing the crisis.

Mr White noted that the current phase of the fellowship is being organised following the success of the inaugural one.

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“Last year we organised the inaugural climate change media fellowship for journalists in West Africa which was highly successful. In the lead-up to COP27 which will be held in Africa, we are building on this to strengthen African journalists’ capacity to not only make sense of climate change debates and negotiations but hold their respective governments accountable while mainstreaming climate change in public discourse,” he said.

If you are a journalist who reports on climate change in West Africa, please fill out this survey.

The deadline for the fellowship application, according to CJID, is July 25, 2022.

It called on interested candidates “to .”

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