“Featuring Green Growth”: CFI and GRET launch their visual storytelling training program in Laos

"There is an identified need for journalists and media content producers to humanize the impact of climate change and be able to popularize scientific data", according to Lucie Reynaud, the regional coordinator the Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) network, supported and coordinated by the international NGO GRET, based in France. "Our joint "Featuring Green Growth" program will enable media to just do that", she states.

To address this need, CFI and GRET are partnering to mentor Lao journalists and online influencers to report about scientific issues linked to climate change and sustainable development practices. Together with the support of the Lao Youth Radio, the program will last 8 months and will expose the selected participants to a variety of media professionals (journalism trainers, graphic designers and data specialists) as well as scientists and experts from renowned French agencies working in the region (GRET, CIRAD, AFD among others) to ensure reliable data and unique content can be shared.

Implementing an innovative approach to media training, CFI and GRET will work on creating a curriculum based on "nano-modules" and personalized coaching to enable selected participants to produce visual and engaging content. "Since we have been implementing the Mekong Sustainable News project in the region, we have found that creating hands-on and concrete short modules ("nano-modules") better suit newsrooms time and human resources constraints. Coaching will be an important part of the program to value the commitment of selected candidates and the expertise of the trainers and scientists", explains Maxime Hugeux, CFI Mekong Sustainable News project manager. "We are proud to be able to rely on the GRET expertise to launch such a program".

GRET has been operating in Southeast Asia since 1988 and in Laos since 2004, focusing mostly on water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), social protection, sustainable agriculture development (agro-ecology, irrigation), sustainable management of natural resources (bamboo).

A call for applications is available in Englishand inLao language and the deadline is April 10^th, 2020.

Training programs are being developed in Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Stay tuned for more information!
The Mekong Sustainable News project is supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.