Citizen journalists answer the call for climate change

Recently, the effects of climate change on our planet has acted as a catalyst for media reaction and activists around the globe. Authors, artists, filmmakers, bloggers and others continually contribute to the growing, green cloud of environmental responsibility.

In recognition, global media organization Internews has just called for entries for its newly-founded “Earth Journalism Awards” – asking citizen as well as pro journalists throughout the world to submit their best call-to-arms work against climate change.

Winners of the Earth Journalism Awards will be flown to Copenhagen this coming December to cover the United Nations Climate Change Conference and will be honored at a high-profile awards ceremony.

“It is very important to deepen public understanding of climate change and the urgent need for an agreement in Copenhagen,” said Yvo de Boer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change . “The media has a vital role to play both in explaining what is required for the world to be able to make a dramatic shift towards a low carbon society and to be able to adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change. I welcome, therefore, the Earth Journalism Awards initiative.”

Awards will be granted to 14 winners based on pre-set criteria:

• Seven Regional Awards on current affairs and news reporting on climate change: Eurasia, South Asia, East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, and North America, Europe & Australia.
• Six Thematic Awards : The Negotiations Award, The Human Voices Award, The Energy Award, The Forests Award, The Climate Change and Nature Award, The Climate Change Adaptation Award.
• Global Public Award : Chosen by the public, which will be invited to vote online for the best story drawn from the winning regional and thematic awards through a social networking campaign on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

An additional thematic award – The MTV Positive Change Award – opens from June 22, 2009.

“Accurate, understandable reporting on climate change is essential in order to engage the public and their leaders to work for the best policy solutions,” said James Fahn, the Director of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network . “Particularly in the developing world, where most of the impact of climate change is being felt, citizens have an urgent need to understand what is at stake at Copenhagen and beyond, and local media are the key to this understanding.”

For more information or to submit an entry, visit http://awards.earthjournalism.org . Submission closes on September 7, 2009.

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