THE CLIMATE DIALOGUES: MEDIA PERSPECTIVES ON CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATION
Date: November 21 (Saturday), 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Platform: Zoom
The Philippines is among the most vulnerable countries globally to climate-related events (World Bank, 2013), and yet there is still a need for Filipinos to fully understand the scientific concepts and hazards associated with the changing climate. Publicly accessible information is often event-based, with reporting and discourse typically reactive to and focused on disasters.
Media coverage has been proven to shape and affect science and policy discourse as well as public understanding and action (Boykoff and Roberts, 2007). Despite its crucial role in stirring discussion on climate change especially in developing countries, there is little interest from media practitioners due to limited knowledge linked to lack of access to “timely, clear and understandable information on climate change” and the use of excessive jargon by scientists and institutions (PANOS Institute, 2006).
The OML Center, together with the Climate Change Commission, UN-International Organization for Migration, and Earth Observatory of Singapore, would like to develop the role of media and communication practitioners, particularly those with reach and influence in the regions, in surfacing climate narratives, and influencing public understanding and action in their communities on climate change issues, hazards and impacts.
To this end, we will be holding an online forum with media and communication practitioners with three primary objectives:
1. To gather perspectives on the challenges of climate change communication in the Philippines (short-term)
2. To gain insight into ways to collaborate with media and communication practitioners in amplifying national and regional climate change discussions (short-term)
3. To open a dialogue among Philippine media and communications practitioners on the challenges in climate reporting (short-term)
The perspectives gathered in the online forum will serve as inputs in the development of the OML Center and CCC’s media engagement programs.
WORKING PROGRAM
| Time | ||
| 10:01 - 10:05 am (5 mins) |
Welcome Remarks Rodel D. Lasco, OML Center |
Welcome resource persons and participants. Provide context to the Forum. Introduce keynote address speaker. |
| 10:06 - 10:15 am (10 mins) |
Keynote Address Mark Hertsgaard, Executive Director, Covering Climate Now Damian Carrington, Environment Editor, The Guardian Jonathan Watts, Global Environment Editor, The Guardian Leo Hickman, Carbon Brief |
Can climate reporting influence change (or action)? |
| 10:16 - 10:45 am (10 mins each) |
Perspectives on Climate Change Communication ● Regional Perspective: Earth Observatory of Singapore ● Philippine perspective on climate discourse: OMLC ● Climate change and migration: UN-IOM |
How does/can climate reporting influence thinking and action? ● Observations and trends in climate change communication ● OML Center presentation of findings on Philippine CC adaptation reporting in 2019 (news and social media) ● UN-IOM findings on climate change and human mobility |
| 10:46 - 10:55 am (10 mins) |
Reporting on Climate Jhesset Enano, Philippine Daily Inquirer |
Journalist’s/media perspective and insights on the major developments and/or challenges to making climate reporting a catalyst for change/action |
| 10:56 - 11:25 am (30 mins) |
Breakout Sessions by General Regions: What can we do to strengthen the role of climate reporting for change/action? | Participants from various media will be pre-grouped into breakout sessions by region (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao with NCR/National media distributed among the 3 groups). Each breakout session should have two moderators: a media professional and a youth/campus journalist. |
| 11:26 - 11:40 am (5 mins each) |
Group Reportings: Key Highlights | Reporting on highlights of the discussions in the breakout sessions |
| 11:41 - 11:50 am (10 mins) |
Synthesis and Ways Forward Michelle Villariez, UN-IOM |
Synthesis of reportings, calls to action for media and communicators, initial plans of CCC, OMLC, UN-IOM |
| 11:51 - 12:00 nn (10 mins) |
Closing Remarks Sec. Emmanuel M. de Guzman, Climate Change Commission |
TARGET PARTICIPANTS
The organizers must align and agree on the list of target participants, with specific organizations tasked to take lead with some groups.
In general, target participants for this Forum are professional and student journalists, media practitioners, and communicators in the Philippines. Specifically:
● Media practitioners covering climate/disaster. We aim to have journalists, reporters and columnists not just from national media, but also from the regions, with representation from various mediums (print, TV, radio, online). Target participants include, but not limited to, those from Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, NCR, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Central Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, and BARMM.
● Philippine Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), preferably those with both climate change or environment research centers and journalism or communications programs. HEIs to be invited include, but not limited to Bohol Island State University, Cebu Technological State University, University of Eastern Philippines, Visayas State University, Sultan Kudarat State University, and Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology.
● Student and Youth Organizations in acknowledgment of their strong influence in information dissemination, especially across social media platforms, and to provide an avenue for their call to climate action. These include those involved in science communication, climate change communication, and climate journalism, among other related advocacies.
The organizers also welcome participation by SEA-based climate change research institutions and media to help provide a comparative or SEA region perspective to local issues.
Moderators for the breakout sessions will be selected from the list of target participants.
