Improving Media understanding of Climate Change Information for Applicable Communication in Africa

Over 75 journalists and scientists will meet in Kampala for the first ever journalist climate change conference. The conference is due to take place from 31st May to 2nd June 2010 at hotel Africana in Kampala, Uganda.

Conference organizers say they are looking at creating a home grown solution to a common problem of climate change communication, raise awareness and provide a link between the different players.

“The major objective of this conference is to create a critical mass of well trained journalists in Africa by improving their capacity to cover climate change issues more accurately and effectively. Journalists will also be introduced to climate change journalism,” said Patrick Luganda the chairman Network of Climate Journalists of the Greater Horn of Africa (NECJOGHA).

This will increase their potential to inform, educate and mobilize the public, policy makers and researchers about climate change so as to help the decision-making process at all levels and enable positive utilization of climate information for betterment of livelihoods.

“We need more people to know about it that is why we need the media as a partner. The task of sensitization is so big. Many people in Africa blame themselves for climate change,” said Mr. Stephen Magezi the commissioner of Meteorology in Uganda.

Topics will aim at for instance improving disaster risk management in Africa, which has gained crucial prominence with the occurrence of repeated disasters and raising public awareness on the available adaptation and mitigation options.

“Increasing agricultural production through application of climate information is a critical intervention in reducing poverty through increased outputs and incomes. Adaptation to climate change on the other hand is an important intervention for all global communities in the face of changing climate scenarios particularly in Africa,” said Mr. Luganda.

The media has immense potential to play a lead role in informing the public as well as stakeholders in the climate information cycle to adapt and mitigate disasters, make informed decisions and adaptive planning at various levels of governance.

This conference seeks to address these bottlenecks by engaging the media, which are the main source of information to the public, governments and society in general.

About NECJOGHA; It was formed in February 2002 at Eldoret, Kenya, during the ninth Climate Outlook Forum (COF9), after a series of discussions between journalists and climate scientists at climate outlook forums and users workshops. The 10 countries comprising NECJOGHA include Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

The objective of the network is to enhance the interaction between climate scientists and journalists and, in so doing, to disseminate climate information in ways that are easily understood by all, including policymakers and the general public in the GHA.
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For more information contact
Esther Nakkazi, nakkazie@yahoo.com
Tel; +256 772 491950