Report on the Massive Open Online Course for Journalists

The massive open online course (MOOC) developed for journalists under CONFER WP4 is a course that provides journalists in the East Africa region with knowledge on climate change, changing weather, and the widespread impact of extreme weather and climate events. The course articulates crucial aspects of the changing climate and gives the journalists an insight on how to report on climate issues in mainstream media. This means they gain knowledge on jargon and language used for climate aspects, key explanations on different climate issues that are covered in media, and overcome challenges in communicating scientific concepts on climate change. NORCAP, a global provider of expertise to the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding sector, and a partner in the CONFER project has partnered with BBC media action to develop and deliver this training for a more accurate, easily understandable, audience orientated climate reporting. The course primarily targets journalists in the East Africa region but is available to journalists around the world. The training has been developed based on the results of a needs assessment study completed by local journalists, as well as some brief research in the region, and will primarily focus on climate change and climate services. This deliverable provides an online platform for journalists to access and self-train in climate change- related knowledge and update. It provides a valuable learning platform for journalists who work on climate reporting as well as those actively working in the sector with climate information producers and users. This course will help them understand the science behind the causes of climate change, how international organisations and communities are responding to it and how as a journalist, participants of this course can cover it effectively for their audience. The MOOC has been widely shared through BBC Media Action, ICPAC, and NORCAP, and the official launch is scheduled for February 2022 during ICPAC’s climate outlook forum. This will ensure that the MOOC is shared through the right channels with all stakeholders involved with climate services production usage. The course will be available throughout the project period and even after project completion with plans to update and include translated versions of the course for wider reach among journalists in different countries.