Digital storytelling on climate change

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Final name list of selected participants

About the training

This week-long training on digital storytelling for journalists aims to raise awareness of climate change and resilience building. It will expose interested journalists to the basics of video story production and prepare them to tell digital stories confidently. Participants will be able to produce a high-quality video story about climate adaptation and resilience building, which can be published by local, regional, and international media outlets.

This training is part of ICIMOD’s Resilient Mountain Solutions (RMS) Initiative. RMS builds on research and solutions that have proven effective and applicable in the diverse mountain contexts of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). RMS aims to enhance the resilience of women and men in the HKH to socioeconomic and environmental changes, including climate change adaptation. We have been partnering with GRID-Arendal to communicate and disseminate the RMS results to global audiences.

Objective

The workshop will share strategies for effectively and engagingly communicating the ground realities of climate change issues, particularly around adaptation. It will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to develop and deliver scientifically-valid stories that can be easily understood by the public. The stories generated during and after the media workshop should reflect the realities on the ground in the research sites, with attention to the local context of culture, traditions, communication strategies, gender issues, and interpersonal and social dynamics of each location.

Expected outputs

Upon completion of the training, participants will:

• Understand climate change adaptation and cover various elements of a compelling video storytelling including how digital narratives can help raise awareness on climate change impacts, particularly on the poor and marginalized.
• Emerge from the training with increased confidence in developing digital stories on climate change impacts on people in the HKH region and their responses
• Develop the technical and editorial skills required to tell digital stories
• Be prepared to produce a short video on a tight deadline
• Have a deeper understanding of how to frame questions, conduct field interviews, and present them in the most engaging manner
• Develop awareness of channels and media outlets covering climate and adaptation-related stories. Examples of climate issues featured in the news can be found here.
• Help develop public awareness of adaptation challenges and linkages between environmental issues, social problems, and the broader economy

Target participants

This training is for freelance journalists from photojournalism, video/documentary, and print/web media who regularly cover environmental issues, especially on climate change and its impacts, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Structure

The course will focus on three tracks critical to video storytelling:

• Technical skills, include the skills workshop designed to introduce and deepen understanding of video production
• Editorial skills, which include ways to identify and pitch video stories, how to secure the elements needed to produce them, and how to craft them
• Practical skills, through which participants will apply their learning to complete a short video during the training course

Tools

Equipment

• All participants are required to come to the training with a digital HD video camera or mobile phone with video capabilities

Software

• Please download and install a free 7-day trial to Adobe Premiere before the training
• All participants are required to come to the training with a laptop

Agenda

Instructor: Nani Sahra Walker

Nani Sahra Walker is a Nepali-American filmmaker, curator and educator based in Los Angeles. She is the Director of the L.A. Times Short Docs, a monthly series by LA Times Studios. Her non-fiction work includes feature-length and short films for Amazon, Spectrum, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Washington Post, and the Guardian. Her films and projects have received international acclaim, including fellowships and awards such as the Cine Qua Non Lab, Asia Project Market, SFFILM’S FilmHouse Residency, Telly Award, Online Journalism Award, Los Angeles-area Emmy award and more.

Nani is also an adjunct lecturer. She teaches professionals, undergraduate and graduate students documentary, video production, multimedia, and immersive reality. Walker is an alumna of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Boston University, where she focused on new media, documentary, and philosophy respectively.

Participation costs

ICIMOD will cover all direct costs related to the workshop, including international airfare, visa processing, local transport, accommodation, and food during the workshop for all selected participants

Eligible applicants

This is a public notice to ensure that all interested and qualified individuals have a fair opportunity to submit applications for funding. The eligible applicants must be located within ICIMOD’s working areas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. In addition, applicants should not be affiliated with a political party or engaged in any political activities, and not be focused solely on religious activities.

Selection criteria

• Minimum of 1-2 years’ experience in video journalism
• Proficient in Adobe Premiere or equivalent editing tools
• Highly-motivated
• Experience in the reporting environment
• Some technical knowledge about climate change, climate change adaptation, and resilience building
• Women and participants from marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to apply

Submission instructions

• The application must be submitted no later than the deadline (24 April 2022) or subsequently announced deadlines if additional reviews are announced.
• Incomplete applications, or those submitted after the deadline, shall not be considered.
• Within two weeks of the postmark deadline, the selected participants will be announced on the event page. They will also receive a receipt confirmation of their selection.