Climate Change Media Partnership Reporting Fellowships to COP26

Updated November 2021

2021 CCMP Reporting Fellows Announced

The Earth Journalism Network (EJN), a project of Internews, and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security are pleased to announce that 20 journalists from developing countries have been awarded fellowships to cover the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) as part of the Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) program. The climate journalists were selected from a global open call that drew close to 400 applications, almost doubling the number from the same call in 2019.

The 2021 CCMP fellows are:

• Albert Oppong-Ansah, Ghana News Agency (Ghana)
• Daniel Kaburu, K24 TV (Kenya)
• Isaac Anyaogu, BusinessDay Media Ltd (Nigeria)
• Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi, Peoples Gazette (Nigeria)
• Aïda Delpuech, Inkyfada (Tunisia)
• Shamsuddin Illius, The Business Standard (Bangladesh)
• Disha Shetty, Health Policy Watch (India)
• Rishika Pardikar, The Wire (India)
• Sibi Arasu, Livemint (India)
• Yunanto Wiji Utomo, Kompas.com (Indonesia)
• Baktygul Chynybaeva, Azattyk Media (Kyrgyzstan)
• Zhai Yun (Nat) Tan, The Edge Malaysia (Malaysia)
• Mukesh Pokhrel, Himal Media (Nepal)
• Muhammad Daud Khan, Pakhtunkhwa Radio (Pakistan)
• Patricia Marie Robles, Rappler (Philippines)
• Gaea Katreena Cabico, Philstar.com (Philippines)
• Anastasiia Zagoruichyk, Ekonomichna Pravda (Ukraine)
• Adriana Souza, CNN Brasil (Brazil)
• Jéssica Maes, Folha de S.Paulo (Brazil)
• María Mónica Monsalve Sanchez, El Espectador (Colombia)

The four trainers from EJN’s global network who will support and guide these fellows are:

• Fermin Koop (Argentina)
• Joydeep Gupta (India)
• Imelda Abaño (Philippines)
• Mildred Mulenga (Zambia)

They will be joined by Fred Mugira, Infonile.org (Uganda) and April Rochimawati, viva.co.id and the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (Indonesia), Internews partners who will participate in, and contribute to, fellowship activities and conduct their own reporting.

Read the full announcement.

CCMP in the News

Through a partnership between Internews and The Scotsman, a number of fellow stories will appear in this leading Scottish newspaper.

Articles about CCMP:

• CJR at COP26: A fellowship centers journalists from the Global South
  November 9, 2021, Columbia Journalism Review
• How should the media cover COP26 and climate change long-term?
  October 26, 2021, Journalism.co.uk
• How C4, Times, BBC, Sun, ITV and others are covering Cop26
  October 21, 2021, Press Gazette
• Jurnalis VIVA Terpilih Hadiri KTT Perubahan Iklim Glasgow
  September 24, 2021, VIVA.co.id
• Корреспондент радио «Азаттык» стала обладателем стипендии на освещение Конференции ООН по изменению климата
  September 24, 2021, Internews
• TBS Ctg Chief Shamsuddin Illius, Among 20, Receives CCMP Fellowship to Cover COP26
  September 23, 2021, The Business Standard
• “Азаттыктын” кабарчысы экологиялык журналисттин стипендиясына ээ болду
  September 23, 2021, Азаттык Υналгысы
• Philstar.com reporter awarded fellowship to cover UN climate change talks
  September 23, 2021, Philstar.com

About CCMP

The Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP), now in its 15th year, will bring 20 journalists from developing countries to attend and report on the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November 2021. The program is led this year by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

Hosted this year by the United Kingdom in partnership with Italy, COP26 was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently scheduled to take place in the city of Glasgow, Scotland from October 31 to November 12, 2021.

Since its launch in 2007, the CCMP has brought more than 350 journalists from developing countries to attend and report on the annual UN climate talks. This has enabled journalists from around the world to cover the climate negotiations for their home audiences while benefiting from working alongside knowledgeable climate journalists and gaining a multifaceted understanding of the actions that countries are taking—or not taking—to prevent climate change and address its global impact.

“After a year-long delay, the negotiations at COP26 and the commitments that are made there have grown even more consequential,” said Devon Terrill, Journalism and Media Program Officer for the Stanley Center. “Journalists need to be there to report on these important developments and hold their countries’ delegations accountable.”

Despite the uncertainty around the practical details of this year’s conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CCMP organizers believe that it is critical for journalists representing diverse countries—and especially those from the Global South—to have the opportunity to attend and cover COP26, if possible. In the event that safety measures related to COVID-19 or other barriers prevent all or some CCMP fellows from traveling to Glasgow to report from COP26 on-site, the CCMP organizers may offer opportunities for journalists to participate in CCMP activities virtually. For more information on the CCMP program, visit the EJN website.

“Along with so many other impacts, of course, the pandemic has hampered journalists’ ability to cover the increasing impacts of climate change and efforts to prevent them,” notes James Fahn, EJN’s Executive Director. “We don’t know what the situation will be like for journalists to cover COP26, although we’re sure there will be challenges. But we’re committed to doing our best to try and get some journalists there in person and helping others to cover the event remotely.”