A British university has just launched an awards scheme aimed at budding young journalists who are passionate about reporting on the climate crisis.

Falmouth University’s ‘Reporting Earth’ scheme will give young people from around the world the chance to win a grant worth £1,500 and receive mentoring from media and communications experts.

The news comes as we’ve seen spate of extreme weather events hit the planet in recent weeks, following record temperatures in North America when it hit nearly 50 degrees in Canada and floods across central Europe and China.

The initiative is open to anyone aged 18-29 to submit ideas on new ways of reporting on the climate and ecological emergency, covering areas such as eco-anxiety, activism and the biodiversity crisis. Organisers say that as a crisis affecting millions of people around the world, it’s the biggest story that journalists have to cover right now.

The awards will culminate in an online journalism summit on 21 September 2021, where entrants will get a chance to present their ideas, alongside keynote speakers and panel discussions involving Climate Home News and Al Jazeera. The event has been timed to take place the week before the Youth Summit on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Milan in Italy.

Kate de Pury, a senior lecturer in journalism at Falmouth University, said:

It’s the biggest story for journalists today and we need to find new ways to report it so we reach a young a diverse audience – it’s their future we are reporting.

For more information, including how to take part, visit https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/reporting-earth

Image: Falmouth University