As the world marks another year of record-breaking heat, raging wildfires and catastrophic floods, the science is unequivocal: climate change is no longer a distant threat, it is a present emergency.
From the melting glaciers of the Himalayas to the drying rivers of southern Africa, the fingerprints of a warming planet are everywhere, and the window to act is narrowing by the day.
In Botswana, where communities are already grappling with prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall and rising temperatures, the need for accurate, gender-sensitive climate journalism has never been more urgent.
Two Batswana journalists have now been selected for a prestigious continental fellowship aimed at strengthening climate reporting across Africa. Irene Shone of the Botswana Guardian and Midweek
Sun, and Baboki Kayawe, are among nine finalists selected for the Media Fellows for the Action Research to Enhance Effective Coverage of Climate Change Issues in Africa (ARECCCA) project, implemented by the Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA) with support from IDRC Eastern and Southern Africa.
The fellowship is guided by four objectives: to deepen climate change coverage across Eastern and Southern Africa; to document and share lessons on covering climate issues from African perspectives; to apply a gender and intersectional lens to climate reporting; and to integrate emerging themes including Just Transition, climate finance and Loss and Damage into climate stories.
According to MESHA’s Chief Executive Officer, Aghan Daniel, the selected fellows have demonstrated deep experience covering climate change and a strong understanding of the nexus between climate change and vulnerable groups such as women, youth and persons with disabilities.
“During the year-long engagement, each fellow will spend prolonged periods with communities and sources, supported by a researcher, a gender expert and an editor, to produce authentic, solutions-based climate stories,” Daniel said.
Irene Shone, a reporter for the Botswana Guardian and the Midweek Sun, says the current climate reality in Botswana demands a new kind of storytelling.
“Climate change in Botswana is no longer a future prediction; it is a lived experience,” Shone said., adding that researching climate change topics is very important and could help shape policies in the country and beyond the continent.
Kayawe said working alongside other fellows, through this fellowship, she will spend prolonged periods conducting fieldwork among diverse communities in an effort to tell authentic, solutions-based climate change stories backed by research evidence.
“As a climate and development journalist, I view climate change as a stress multiplier, particularly for countries with limited domestic food production. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the importance of building resilient and self-sufficient food systems,” she said.
From the melting glaciers of the Himalayas to the drying rivers of southern Africa, the fingerprints of a warming planet are everywhere, and the window to act is narrowing by the day.
In Botswana, where communities are already grappling with prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall and rising temperatures, the need for accurate, gender-sensitive climate journalism has never been more urgent.
Two Batswana journalists have now been selected for a prestigious continental fellowship aimed at strengthening climate reporting across Africa. Irene Shone of the Botswana Guardian and Midweek
Sun, and Baboki Kayawe, are among nine finalists selected for the Media Fellows for the Action Research to Enhance Effective Coverage of Climate Change Issues in Africa (ARECCCA) project, implemented by the Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA) with support from IDRC Eastern and Southern Africa.
The fellowship is guided by four objectives: to deepen climate change coverage across Eastern and Southern Africa; to document and share lessons on covering climate issues from African perspectives; to apply a gender and intersectional lens to climate reporting; and to integrate emerging themes including Just Transition, climate finance and Loss and Damage into climate stories.
According to MESHA’s Chief Executive Officer, Aghan Daniel, the selected fellows have demonstrated deep experience covering climate change and a strong understanding of the nexus between climate change and vulnerable groups such as women, youth and persons with disabilities.
“During the year-long engagement, each fellow will spend prolonged periods with communities and sources, supported by a researcher, a gender expert and an editor, to produce authentic, solutions-based climate stories,” Daniel said.
Irene Shone, a reporter for the Botswana Guardian and the Midweek Sun, says the current climate reality in Botswana demands a new kind of storytelling.
“Climate change in Botswana is no longer a future prediction; it is a lived experience,” Shone said., adding that researching climate change topics is very important and could help shape policies in the country and beyond the continent.
Kayawe said working alongside other fellows, through this fellowship, she will spend prolonged periods conducting fieldwork among diverse communities in an effort to tell authentic, solutions-based climate change stories backed by research evidence.
“As a climate and development journalist, I view climate change as a stress multiplier, particularly for countries with limited domestic food production. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the importance of building resilient and self-sufficient food systems,” she said.
