Environmental Journalism Workshop
On
20 Sept, 2023 the SPACES project conducted an environmental journalism workshop
as part of the My Green Mongolia campaign. Twenty journalists representing
major news agencies, TVs, and Radio stations participated in the event, namely
Daily News, Zuunii Medee, Times.mn, delhii.mn, TV9, Eagle.mn, Peak.mn, M&D
agency, and Mongolian National Broadcasting (MNB). The workshop was led by Enerel, a renowned
journalist active on environmental and gender issues and member of the
Mongolian Media Council, and was facilitated by Narangerel Yansanjav of the
People Centered Conservation (PCC).
The main objectives of the event was to learn and share knowledge on environmental
issues at the national level and increase journalists’ motivation to publicize
such issues. This will contribute to creating a pool of journalists interested
in and collaborating in environmental journalism.
When
participants divided into three groups and brainstormed the most immediate and
serious environmental in Mongolia from a journalistic viewpoint, they identified desertification and water and soil
pollution. They also mentioned that poor knowledge, attitudes, and practices
among the public are key drivers of environmental degradation in Mongolia. According
to the journalists, inadequate policy and poor management also contribute to
the issues related to the environment.
Enerel
gave a well-illustrated overview on climate change and environmental
degradation at the global and national level, using info-graphics and animated
videos. The journalists then discussed their own and the media’s role to raise
public awareness. It eventually led the journalists to realize that
environmental topics can be "hot" and "fashionable".
To
this end, a presentation by GIZ specialist Thorsten Harder on the provocative
question "Will Mongolia still
exist in 50 years?” if its natural resources are not well protected was a
wake-up call. In an informal discussion session journalists asked the
presenter and themselves the media can and should do about this partly natural,
partly human disaster. Several journalists requested an interview with Thorsten
on the findings and issues he shared in his talk.
The
discussion led the participants to elaborate how they as media professionals
should work to deliver environmental messages to the public and to
policymakers. As a case in point, Enerel provided an interactive presentation
on how journalists from all over the world go about this public duty task by
means of different approaches. She also introduced the KISS AIDA principles as
a basis for good environmental journalism: “Keep It (messages) Short
& Simple in order to get Attention, create Interest,
awaken Desire, and trigger a call to Action”.
During
the last session, the participants divided into four groups and brainstormed on
how to prepare interactive media content using the KISS AIDA principles. In a
plenary presentation of their discussion results, they shared their ideas and
commented on one another's product. This
was a welcome peer learning opportunity for the journalists involved.
The
training ended with a group photo symbolizing the initiation of a team of
dedicated and passionate journalists to foster environmental journalism in
Mongolia.