Article
Expression of Interest: Development of a Training Manual on Environmental Communication for Journalists in Africa 1.
1. Background
Africa faces daunting development challenges - climate change, destruction of natural resources, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, food insecurity, natural hazards and disasters, rising human population etc. In order for the continent to sustainably develop, these challenges would have to be addressed by using science-evidenced technologies, innovations and policies. The role of science journalism in the science-policy-society interface for addressing the aforementioned challenges cannot be underestimated.
Many believe the scientific community and journalists must work in close harmony to engage with society to disseminate the knowledge required to address the challenges faced by humanity and provide a return on society's investment in the science enterprise. However, communicating science effectively does not come easily; it is an acquired skill. The African Academy of Sciences asserts that science journalism is a 鈥渄ying profession鈥 due to the closure of science desks across Africa. The continental body laments the limited number of science journalists have resulted in the lack of credible public information about science, which in turn produces poor public scientific literacy. Compounding effects are the disappearance of outlets by which scientists themselves gain expertise in areas outside their own fields and through which policymakers receive credible information on science.
In Africa, as elsewhere, science stories are overwhelmed by politics, sports and business news. The poor quality and quantity of science stories is exacerbated by a 鈥榝ormal training deficit鈥 for persons who collect, write, or distribute science news on the continent, because few journalists have a science background. Moreover, stories are increasingly written from press releases without independent analysis or skeptical review. This leads to the unfortunate and ever-increasing practice of 鈥渃hurnalism鈥, whereby news organisations re-publish verbatim material sent by public relations agencies and commercial sources, undermining the credibility of science reporting.
To this end, UNESCO in collaboration with the International Science Council Regional Office for Africa (ISC ROA) seeks the services of a reputable firm or organization to assist with developing a training manual on environmental communication to build the capacities of journalists on the communication of credible, legitimate and salient scientific facts.
2. The Assignment
The recruited firm/organization shall be expected to perform the following functions:
a. Organization of an online consultative meeting with relevant institutions and journalists 鈥 The recruited firm shall collaborate with UNESCO and ISC ROA to organize an online consultative meeting with relevant institutions, media houses and journalists to discuss the problems and challenges faced by journalists in sourcing and reporting scientific information and the priorities for a training manual on science journalism. Recommendations from the consultative meeting shall guide the development of the training manual.
b. Delivery of expected output 鈥 A training manual on environmental communication - guided by the recommendations of the consultative meeting, the recruited firm shall develop the content of a training manual on science journalism. As much as possible, the content of the training manual shall cover relevant areas in science, natural resources management, climate change, disaster risk reduction, statistics and emerging technologies under the digital revolution and evolution of science and science systems. The content shall be developed to enable illustrations, exercises, sharing of experiences on best practices and group work. The content shall cover but not limited to the following areas:
- Chapter 1: Rationale and objectives of the training manual
- Chapter 2: Introduction to Science Journalism
- Chapter 3: General facts about science (definition, scientific method, SI Units, interpreting scientific information)
- Chapter 4: Gathering, verifying and reporting scientific information
- Chapter 5: Introduction to basic statistics
o Reading, interpreting and reporting figures and tables
o Reading, interpreting and reporting numbers
- Chapter 6: Biodiversity and Conservation
o Introduction to Biodiversity and Conservation (basic facts on ecosystem types: terrestrial, aquatic, arboreal; ecosystem services; ecosystem problems and challenges; biodiversity-related conventions; enabling polices and institutions on biodiversity; biodiversity-related SDGs and Agenda 2063 etc.)
- Chapter 7: Water Science and Water Resources Management
o Introduction to water resources; introduction to major water bodies in Africa; transboundary water issues, water conflicts and politics, water pollution, water-related conventions; enabling polices and institutions on water; water-related SDGs and Agenda 2063; introduction to watershed management etc.)
- Chapter 8: Natural Disasters and Disaster Risk Reduction
o Introduction to natural disasters (types, causes, risks, preventive measures; disaster risk reduction, Sendai framework, global policy instruments on DRR; disaster-related SGDs and Agenda 2063)
- Chapter 9: Climate Change
o Introduction to basic facts and figures, concepts on adaptation and mitigation, global institutional arrangements, policies and priorities
- Chapter 10: Introduction to industrial (digital) revolutions and emerging technologies
c. Review and validation of the training manual 鈥 In collaboration with UNESCO and ISC ROA, the recruited firm shall organize a workshop to review and validate contents of the training manual.
3. The profile of the recruited firm - The firm should be a national or international educational, research, think-tank, NGO or any relevant organization with the expertise and reputation of developing training manuals or educational curriculum in environmental communication and environmental journalism. Experience in training journalists is an advantage.
4. Duration: The assignment is for a period of five months from the date of signing the contract.
5. Fees: The fees for this assignment is subject to negotiation with the recruited firm.
6. How to apply
Interested firms/organizations should submit their applications to the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. Please submit (i) a cover letter detailing your experiences relevant to the assignment, (ii) a sample training manual, platform or curriculum relevant to the assignment, and (iii) a concept note of how you intend to complete the assignment. Applications should be sent to under the subject line: 鈥淓nvironmental Communication Manual鈥 to nairobi.hydrology@unesco.org.
7. Deadline for application is Friday 11st August 2020
