Participants and Facilitators: Pix by M.E. Njie |
Twenty-five Gambian journalists recently concluded a training course on “Climate Change Facts, Communication
and Strategies for Adaptation”.
The training was intended to serve as an
appropriate platform for local journalists discuss, learn and share good
practices about climate change, its effects, adaptations methods and their
roles in climate change education, communication and public access to
information.
The training, conducted
(January 23-25, 2012) by a local agency,
Global Unification The Gambia (GU) in cooperation with the Gambia Press Union(GPU), and funded by Action aid-The Gambia (AATG), was held at Tendaba, a small
settlement in the Kiang District, Lower River Region, situated approximately
170 kilometers east of the capital, Banjul.
In Gambia,
most local communities are in the climate frontline, struggling daily to adapt
to a gradual changing environment. However, most of these communities are information
and skills-starved to understand the causes and effect or adapt to climate
change.
“Climate
change is increasingly becoming a pressing issue and the GPU is indeed
delighted to be associated with this training,” the 1st Vice
President of the GPU, Baboucarr Ceesay said, while noting the “majority of
Gambian journalists are generalists and do not focus on specific issues like
climate change”.
He charged
journalists to transform the information gathered into knowledge to better
disseminate climate change and related issues to the public.
The national coordinator of GU, Ebrima S. Dem described
climate change as a global problem affecting Africans more since the change in
rainfall patterns is affecting food security on the continent.
Though Africans contribute less to global emissions of carbon
dioxide compared to the industrialized West and China, he lamented poor
communication have contributed immensely to the lack of knowledge for causes, impact
and adaptation at community levels.
“The media is
recognised as one of the key pillars of getting this information to the public.
However, the work of the media to this effect is limited as they have little knowledge
on climate change issues,” he argued.
“Development
cannot move without data and the flow of information, hence it is fitting to capacities
journalists on climate change,” argues Lamin Nyangado, Policy and Advocacy
Manager AATG. “What we hope to achieve is to enable ourselves
Understand the
perception of climate change and be able to communicate it to the public.”
The training
also attracted international participants and facilitators from the Netherlands,
Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa and was held under the theme: “Strengthening
media capacity on climate change communication in The Gambia”.
Journalists
were introduced in-depth on the Science of Climate Change;; Information Communication Technology and
Media Participation on Climate Change information Access; Climate Change
Education, Health and Gender; Forestry Management and Energy Efficiency; and
Politics of Climate Change Negotiation at the level of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Author: Modou S. Joof
Twitter (@Msjoof)
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