The United Nations made an appearance at this year’s Highway Africa with UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme) hosting media workshops targeted at the effective coverage of climate change. These interactive sessions, which were held on Saturday and Sunday, aimed to explore both the challenges of climate change and the available solutions in dealing with these issues in Africa. According to UNEP Associate Public Information Officer Bryan Coll, these workshops “aim to take some of the most cutting edge science that UNEP deals with and bring it to journalists”. UNEP is concerned with finding more meaningful ways of reporting on climate change and its impact on health, quality of life, job prospects and food security. The workshops, led by UNEP professionals, include sessions such as ‘Climate Change Adaptation: Opportunities and Challenges’ and ‘Green Growth and Carbon Markets in Africa’. “What journalists often express difficulty with is bringing climate change to an understandable level,” says Coll. He stresses that the UN does not tell journalists what to do, but simply examines ways in which emerging climate change issues can be reported more relevantly to their audiences.
“aim to take some of the most cutting edge science that UNEP deals with and bring it to journalists”.
Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University, Saleem Badat, stated that environmental justice and social justice are inextricably linked at Friday’s MTN Opening Gala Dinner. Thus, in reporting on environmental issues, humanity cannot be overlooked. One of the speakers at the workshop, Dr. Richard Munang (Strategic Policy Advisor for Climate Change Adaptation and Development Initiative) stressed the timeliness of these workshops in light of the upcoming COP 17. “In less than two months, the world will come together in Durban to deliberate on a deal on curbing emissions and charting a way forward on how vulnerable communities can adapt,” he says. Already there are many success stories from these communities and replicating and upscaling can be better done with the help of the media.”
– By Sungeni Chithambo, Highway Africa
