Climate change fellows urged to champion advocacy

Nine climate change journalism fellows have been urged to become the voice of climate reporting in West Africa.

This was made known at the closing ceremony of the first cohorts of the Climate Change Journalism Fellowship organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa.

The journalists from Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Republic of Benin, Guinea and Togo, underwent five months’ training on covering and reporting climate change.

The programme, titled, ‘Confronting the Climate Change Crises in West Africa through Critical Journalism’ was held on Friday, in Accra, Ghana.

MFWA’s Director of Advocacy and Research, Kojo Impraim, stated that there was a need to improve climate change reporting and ensure it was on the “front burner” of news reportage.

In a message to the fellows, the representative of DW Akademie, Ama Kudjo, said, “Dear Fellows, you have the opportunity to lead the charge for the change in climate and its issues in West Africa. Become the voice of climate reporting because you have been equipped to tell the story.”

In his remarks, the Chairperson of the event and the Chief Executive Officer, Forestry Commission, Mr John Allotey, expressed gladness about having young journalists specialised in covering and reporting climate change issues in West Africa.

In a panel discussion, a representative of the Ghana Metrological Agency, David Quaye, stated that journalists should not only cover weather reports and crises but report them in simple and understandable terms and language to their audience.

Representatives from the Embassy of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso and some civil society organisations graced the event.