Terra Asia
Goals
A project
Supported by
In partnership with
Presentation
For many years, the Indo-Pacific region has been bearing the brunt of rising global temperatures, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. These climate changes are hitting low-lying coastal countries hard, directly threatening the very existence of island states in both oceans. According to the UN, these environmental crises mainly affect the poorest and most vulnerable populations, particularly women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), an intergovernmental organisation of which France is a founding member, is positioning itself as a key platform for encouraging Asia-Pacific media decision-makers to address these critical environmental issues. At its annual conference in October 2023, its members expressed their determination to focus on environmental issues and to combat misinformation.
To consolidate this shared determination, CFI is launching the Terra Asia project in partnership with the AIBD. The aim is clear: to enhance the skills of journalists in Asia and the Pacific in dealing with environmental information and to equip them to combat misinformation effectively.
Project beneficiaries
96 journalists and media professionals
Actions
3. Supporting the production and distribution of digital content focusing on environmental issues
CFI shall sign an agreement with each beneficiary media organisation to provide a grant to support the production of content relating to environmental challenges and the fight against misinformation. Prizes shall be awarded directly to the winning journalists for the best media content produced on environmental issues affecting women in particular. These grants shall be combined with coaching on both journalistic and scientific subjects to enable the beneficiary media to reach a wider audience, in particular by encouraging the use of social networks.
1. Strengthen the media's knowledge of environmental issues in order to reach a wider audience concerning the region's challenges
The aim is to provide the beneficiary media with as much information as possible to enable them to cover the issues involved. Three awareness-raising days will be organised in each country, as well as a capitalisation seminar to reward the best media content produced.
The media will also be provided with additional training courses run by specialists in the media and environmental issues relating to South-East Asia and Pacific countries, promoting solutions-based journalism.
In addition, in order to promote the production of verified and documented information, a dedicated web page on the AIBD website will be set up and maintained, providing the media with documented content.
2. Strengthening the media's ability to cover environmental issues and deal with misinformation on social networks
Beneficiaries will first be trained in ethical issues and the social responsibility of journalists, then in innovative storytelling and the creation of digital fact-checking content specifically related to social networks. Capacity-building will also cover techniques for monitoring and researching structured disinformation on social networks.
This training will be in addition to a module providing individual support for beneficiaries in developing solutions to counter destabilising narratives on environmental issues.
