Wits Centre for Journalism Partners with ClimateXchange to Reshape Climate Journalism
The launch of the ClimateXchange platform comes at a pivotal time when media’s coverage of climate change is under intense scrutiny.
Johannesburg, South Africa-The University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg’s Wits Centre for Journalism (WCJ) has announced a partnership with London-based ClimateXchange, writes Matiisetso Mosala.
The collaboration aims to reshape the landscape of climate journalism by infusing it with depth, relatability, and solutions with local perspectives and impact.
Speaking at the launch, Alis Okonji, Partner Manager for ClimateXchange, praised WCJ’s commitment to fostering excellence in media training and education.
“Our collaboration with a practical academic partner enables us to shape the future of how climate is reported to enable sustainable action whatever the audience,” Okonji emphasized.
ClimateXchange, the flagship initiative of the nonprofit community interest company Syli, seeks to catalyse a fundamental shift in climate-related journalism.
Co-founders Tom Trewinnard and Fergus Bell envision this transformation by prioritising locally relevant content that highlights tangible causes of climate change and the global transition to a more sustainable, carbon-conscious lifestyle.
Dr Dinesh Balliah, Director of the Wits Centre for Journalism, expressed delight at being selected as the Africa regional hub of the ClimateXchange programme.
She said the project aligns with their mission to tackle the challenges of climate change through the capacitation of journalists and content producers to make the complexities of climate change accessible and relatable.
“ClimateXchange will seed a new project at the WCJ, one which aims to mainstream discussions around climate change that are science-driven, accountability-focused and empowers communities to acclimate to the changes that are already part of our realities,” Dr Balliah expanded.
The launch of the ClimateXchange platform comes at a pivotal time when media’s coverage of climate change is under intense scrutiny, amid a backdrop of extreme weather events and increasing concerns about record-breaking global temperatures.
The partnership with the Wits Centre for Journalism further develops a collaborative system in which ClimateXchange partners will contribute, customise, and utilise story assets for various regions, and develop and share original content, enabling partners to access trustworthy digital assets that can be distributed to their local audiences.
Centred on three pillars, ClimateXchange facilitates a reporting and distribution hub where engaging, high-impact journalism on climate and the just transition can be created or shared for reuse and republication by global news media.
It also establishes a network of regional hubs where climate reporting is commissioned, and cross-border and cross-regional collaborations are seeded.
Further, that enables a platform where the process of ecosystem change begins and sustainability solutions for newsrooms covering the climate crisis are developed and refined, as it expands into Africa.