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African voices in climate change coverage

By Carlos Mureithi

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Sources of climate change information

  • Daily events and stories covered in newspapers, magazines, TV and radio
  • Scientific journals, eg Nature and Science
  • Studies and reports
  • Government organisations, eg Kenya Meteorological Department
  • Environmental nonprofits, eg WWF and Greenpeace
  • Think tanks and research institutions, eg Power Shift Africa
  • Climate-focused communications organisations, eg Global Strategic Communications Council

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People you can use as sources

  • Researchers
  • Scientists, eg World Weather Attribution
  • Academics
  • Policy experts
  • People impacted by climate change
  • People providing solutions for climate change impacts

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How to access

  • Do a lot of research to find out what and who is available and get their contact information
  • Attend seminars and conferences
  • Create, foster, nurture and maintain relationships to build trust
  • Get added to mailing lists
  • Do ground reporting to find people impacted by climate change

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Why it’s important to include African voices

  • Have lived experiences
  • Understand cultural and historical context and background
  • Understand issues that are important to local people
  • Provide local, empathetic African perspectives through an African’s lense
  • Lack outside gaze that may linger on traits that are different

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Challenges in getting African perspectives

  • Lack of digital presence for many African academics and experts
  • Scarcity of expert databases (check out Climate Reporting Toolkit Africa)
  • Little publicity for studies in African journals
  • Bureaucracy
  • Tight deadlines for news production
  • Communication challenges

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Takeaway

You have to be proactive and intentional in looking for and using African voices.

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Questions?

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THANK YOU!

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carlos.mureithi@theguardian.com