Media Training

Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing for Professional Journalists

Since 2005, COMplus has trained nearly 1,000 journalists worldwide on key sustainable development issues such as climate change, water and sanitation, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, biodiversity, forest management and social corporate responsibility.

Some of the workshops took place as part of key global meetings, giving journalists - especially those from developing countries - the opportunity not only to cover these meetings, but also to acquire a broader and deeper knowledge of key environmental issues.

Our activities have increased in recent years thanks to the valued support of all COMplus members, donors, and journalists worldwide.

On-the-Job Training for Costa Rican Journalists on Public-Private Partnerships in Times of Crisis

San José, Costa Rica (February 2009)

Given the present economic crisis, alliances between public and private institutions are increasingly important. COMplus Alliance in partnership with ALIARSE, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting public-private partnerships for sustainable development in Costa Rica, organised an on-the-job training session on public/private partnerships for 40 Costa Rican journalists from different media outlets and organisations.

The session, “The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Times of Crisis: A New Journalistic Focus,” was held on February 27, 2009 in San José with experts on the subject. Journalists were given a new insight on the potential of public-private partnerships in the national context, including case studies and the role of the news media.

Media outlets represented included Channel 7, Channel 13, Netherland Radio, Estrategia and Negocios Magazine, IPS News Agency, and Al Día newspaper.

Briefing for Journalists as Part of the GLOBE Copenhagen Forum

Copenhagen, Denmark (October 2009)

As part of its ongoing relationship with GLOBE, the COMplus Alliance brought a group of journalists from emerging economies to the GLOBE Copenhagen Legislators Forum in October 2009. This forum represented the most important event GLOBE International has convened to date and made a critical contribution ahead of the formal UNFCCC COP15. The participation of sponsored journalists ensured that all the issues discussed were presented through the media – making national legislators accountable in their home country.

Participating journalists represent the following countries and media outlets: Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Russia, Uruguay, Inter Press Service (international), and Deutsche Welle (Africa).

Training for Journalists as Part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

COMplus has established a strategic partnership with the UNFCCC Secretariat implementing a series of training activities at its request, including:

• Bonn, Germany (April 6-8, 2009)
  
  
• Bangkok, Thailand (October 5-9, 2009)
  
  
• Copenhagen, Denmark (December 13-18, 2009)
  
  

The objective of these media training sessions was to bring key developing country journalists up to speed on issues on the agenda at the forthcoming COP15. These sessions were held in collaboration with UNFCCC and COMplus partner Thomson Reuters.

The training program ran throughout the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen, 2009, with an emphasis on the engagement of young professional journalists and media representatives from developing countries or economies in transition. It also formed part of the Youth Engagement Project of the UNFCCC Secretariat, with funding provided by the Government of the Netherlands. The media component utilised the Secretariat's partnership with COMplus (UNEP, IUCN, World Bank, Reuters Foundation).

Training Program for Central American Journalists on Key Sustainable Development Issues

November 2009

This training program for journalists consisted of a series of four video conferences related to climate change, water resources, sustainable energy, and food security. The aim was to provide Central American journalists with the tools needed to improve their coverage of sustainable development issues. The first videoconference was held in November 2009 and connected three countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The training was a joint effort between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Regional Office for Mesoamerica and the Caribbean, the COMplus Alliance and the World Bank.