Twenty Journalists Awarded Fellowships to Attend and Report on COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland
The Earth Journalism Network (EJN), a project of Internews, and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security are pleased to announce that 20 journalists from developing countries have been awarded fellowships to cover the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) as part of the Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) program.
The 2021 CCMP fellows will attend and report on COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland from November 4 to November 12, 2021. Hosted by the United Kingdom, in partnership with Italy, COP26 was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now moving forward as an in-person conference.
COP26 represents a pivotal moment in the fight to combat climate change, being the first COP to take place after the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement’s rules were set to take effect, giving countries the opportunity to review commitments and strengthen global ambition. The conference also follows the recent release of the IPCC 6th Assessment report, as well as the globally disruptive COVID-19 pandemic, which will both factor into the discussions.
The fellows will receive support and guidance from seasoned climate journalists affiliated with EJN’s global network of trainers. The fellows will also participate in orientation activities, daily briefings, interviews with high-level officials, and other interactions organized by EJN and the Stanley Center to inform and facilitate quality reporting on developments at COP26.
“After a year-long delay, the negotiations at COP26 and the commitments made there have grown even more consequential,” said Devon Terrill, Journalism and Media Program Officer for the Stanley Center. “Journalists need to be there to report on these important developments and hold their countries’ delegations accountable.”
While the UK government has made efforts to make COP26 inclusive and accessible to delegates from every country that is party to the Paris Agreement, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made attending the climate talks in person a significant challenge – especially for those traveling from low and middle-income countries.
“Along with so many other impacts, for more than a year the pandemic has hampered journalists’ ability to cover the increasing impacts of climate change and efforts to address the crisis,” notes James Fahn, EJN’s Executive Director. “We are pleased to be able to organize this opportunity for a group of talented climate journalists from 15 countries to travel to Glasgow and cover such an important COP in person.”
EJN, along with Panos London and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), formed the CCMP in 2007 to enable developing country journalists to attend and report from the annual UN climate summits. Since launching in 2007, the CCMP has supported more than 350 journalists from developing countries to report on location at the annual UN climate summit. This is the third time that EJN and the Stanley Center have teamed up on the CCMP fellowship program.
The journalists participating in the 2021 CCMP fellowship program were selected from a global open call that drew close to 400 applications, almost doubling the number from the same call in 2019.
The 2021 CCMP fellows are:
- Albert Oppong-Ansah, Ghana News Agency (Ghana)
- Daniel Kaburu, K24 TV (Kenya)
- Isaac Anyaogu, BusinessDay Media Ltd (Nigeria)
- Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi, Peoples Gazette (Nigeria)
- Aïda Delpuech, Inkyfada (Tunisia)
- Shamsuddin Illius, The Business Standard (Bangladesh)
- Disha Shetty, Health Policy Watch (India)
- Rishika Pardikar, The Wire (India)
- Sibi Arasu, Livemint (India)
- Yunanto Wiji Utomo, Kompas.com (Indonesia)
- Baktygul Chynybaeva, Azattyk Media (Kyrgyzstan)
- Zhai Yun (Nat) Tan, The Edge Malaysia (Malaysia)
- Mukesh Pokhrel, Himal Media (Nepal)
- Muhammad Daud Khan, Pakhtunkhwa Radio (Pakistan)
- Patricia Marie Robles, Rappler (Philippines)
- Gaea Katreena Cabico, Philstar.com (Philippines)
- Anastasiia Zagoruichyk, Ekonomichna Pravda (Ukraine)
- Adriana Souza, CNN Brasil (Brazil)
- Jéssica Maes, Folha de S.Paulo (Brazil)
- María Mónica Monsalve Sanchez, El Espectador (Colombia)
The four trainers from EJN’s global network who will support and guide these fellows are:
- Fermin Koop (Argentina)
- Joydeep Gupta (India)
- Imelda Abaño (Philippines)
- Mildred Mulenga (Zambia)
They will be joined by Fred Mugira, Infonile.org (Uganda) and April Rochimawati, viva.co.id and the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (Indonesia), Internews partners who will participate in, and contribute to, fellowship activities and conduct their own reporting.
The 2021 CCMP program is co-organized by Internews’ EJN and the Stanley Center. Financial support for EJN has been provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Marisla Foundation and the Flora Family Foundation.
