This program is tailored for emerging journalists from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt. It provides a foundational introduction to climate change and environmental justice, while also examining different journalistic approaches and practical aspects of climate reporting, such as risks, safety protocols, and methods for risk management. The training will include a mix of lectures, group activities, and interactive discussions to cover essential concepts and strategies for reporting on climate change and environmental justice in the MENA region. It will also foster collaboration, networking, and the exchange of experiences among participants to encourage future cooperation.

By the end of the program, participants will gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and ethical insights to effectively understand the core issues of climate change and environmental justice. They will be equipped to tackle these subjects from an informed standpoint, addressing both the opportunities and challenges involved, and will be empowered to improve and diversify in-depth, multimedia reporting on environmental and climate change matters, especially in conflict-affected areas like the MENA region.

Focus Areas

Module 1: Understanding, Discourses, and Solutions
This module is designed to help students grasp the wide-ranging effects of climate change in the MENA region, including key ideas in environmental governance and environmental justice (or the lack thereof). It will also explore the opportunities and challenges within global and regional environmental journalism. The module highlights the dangers of misinformation and underscores the importance of media literacy for responsible environmental journalism.

Module 2: Developing Skills and Gaining Fresh Perspectives
In this module, students will delve into various journalistic methods for reporting on environmental issues and justice, including constructive and investigative journalism. Students will learn critical skills for identifying and selecting credible sources, as well as exploring different reporting formats such as storytelling and multimedia. The module will also cover how to effectively engage audiences and align reporting techniques with advocacy and awareness-raising strategies.

Module 3: Risks, Safety, and Challenges
The focus of this module is to provide students with an understanding of risk and safety assessments for journalists working in conflict zones, along with strategies for mitigating these risks. Topics include censorship, physical danger, reprisals, threats, and the ethical challenges journalists may face in these high-risk environments.

Module 4: Creation of a Journalistic Piece (Group Work Optional)
Students will develop a journalistic piece of their choice, whether it be an article, video, multimedia piece, or photo series. This project will be supported by mentoring sessions with trainers throughout the development process. Completed pieces will be published on the AMWAJ website in both English and Arabic and pitched to AMWAJ’s media partners.
In the first session of Module 4 (full-day), examples related to the topics from Modules 1 and 2 will be presented. Each student will prepare a pitch for the piece they plan to work on, followed by constructive feedback from the group. Over the next few weeks, two additional monitoring sessions will take place to track the progress of the projects and provide further feedback.

Don't miss out on the application deadline which is 3 March 2025.