UNESCO organizes first international conference on Broadcast Media and Climate Change

Paris, 26 August

UNESCO, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and regional broadcasting unions, will hold an international conference entitled “Broadcast Media and Climate Change: A Public Service Remit,” on 4 and 5 September at its Headquarters in Paris.

More than 180 national broadcasters, key international broadcasting associations and scientific organizations will meet to discuss the public service remit of electronic media in raising awareness on climate change. At a time when, in the words of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, “the deathly silence around this crisis is [becoming] a major impediment for international action,” the conference will seek to foster cooperation among national broadcasters and increase their capacities to report on climate change.

Participants will explore coverage of climate change in different regions of the world and the challenges faced by broadcasters, particularly those from the developing countries. These challenges include access to essential content and material needed to report effectively on climate change and promote mitigation strategies at local and international levels.

The event is also expected to help improve the quality of information and programmes on climate change. In this view, UNESCO has partnered with a number of organizations – including the BBC, France Télévision, the Global Humanitarian Forum, TVE, the Algerian Ministry of the Environment, and the production companies Dansk AV Produktion and Ki-Productions – to provide, free of charge, a range of quality audiovisual material and resources to national broadcasters from developing countries.

Finally, the meeting will examine possible mechanisms and frameworks to launch a global broadcast media partnership on climate change.

• Author(s):UNESCOPRESS
• Source:UNESCO Media Advisory No.2009-44
• 27-08-2009