Red Crescent Train Journalists for Stronger Climate Reporting
UrduPoint
ISLAMABAD, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 10th Sep, 2026) The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), in collaboration with the German Red Cross (GRC), has equipped more than 30 journalists and field reporters from Pakistan’s climate vulnerable regions with advanced skills in climate science, data-driven reporting, mobile journalism, and human-centred storytelling through a two-day national training workshop in Islamabad. The initiative aimed at strengthening the quality, credibility, and impact of climate journalism in the country.
Organised by PRCS’s Climate Change Adaptation and Media & Communication departments, the workshop brought together journalists from Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions, which are increasingly exposed to floods, extreme weather, environmental degradation, and other manifestations of a rapidly changing climate.
The workshop sought to bridge the gap between complex climate realities and public understanding by enabling journalists to transform scientific evidence, climate data, and community experiences into compelling, accessible, and consequential stories.
Workshop Objectives and Speakers:
- Objective Overview: Sajjad Ali Kandhir and Ghulam Murtaza (PRCS Climate Change Adaptation Programme) provided an overview of the workshop’s goals.
- Welcome Remarks: Asif Aman (German Red Cross Transition Delegate in Pakistan) and Ghulam Rasool Farooqui (Programme Coordinator, GRC) emphasised the media’s pivotal role in shaping public discourse, informing communities, and amplifying the urgency of climate action.
- Red Crescent Introduction: Sher Zaman (Head of PRCS Media & Communication) offered an insight into the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, its history, mandate, and humanitarian scope of the PRCS. The session was facilitated by Rehan Ali (Assistant Director Media & Communication).
Training Content:
- Climate Science and Reporting: Uneeba Waqar, a climate and environmental journalist, led intensive sessions on climate science, contemporary reporting approaches, story development, and climate policy. Participants explored beyond disaster reporting to delve into the deeper social, economic, and human dimensions of climate change. The sessions emphasised solutions journalism, spotlighting locally-driven responses, resilience-building initiatives, and practical interventions alongside challenges confronting vulnerable communities.
- Mobile Journalism: Abdul Razak Khatti, a broadcast journalist and mobile journalism trainer, demonstrated how smartphones and digital platforms can be leveraged to capture powerful visuals, produce credible field reports, and rapidly bring climate stories to audiences.
- Data Journalism: The workshop explored climate data journalism, identifying hidden climate angles in everyday news, developing compelling human-centred narratives, and cultivating credible sources.
Through this training, the PRCS and GRC aim to empower journalists to:
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Enhance their understanding of climate change issues.
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Develop skills to tell powerful and impactful stories about climate vulnerability and adaptation.
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Promote a data-driven and solutions-oriented approach to climate journalism.
