BBC Media Action launches Living Climate Change Africa podcast

(BBC)

PRESS RELEASE - 16 November 2022

BBC Media Action, the BBC’s international charity, has launched Living Climate Change Africa, a five-part podcast series featuring the voices of herders, farmers, fishers and weather experts from across East Africa as they experience the impacts of climate change in their region.

The series examines how communities in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan are being affected by changing weather patterns.

The podcast is produced in collaboration with The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)’s Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) and launched at COP27.

Lynn Morris, Kenya and Somalia country director for BBC Media Action, said:

‘These powerful stories reveal the scale of the challenge faced by communities across East Africa, as pasture and water grow scarce and conflict increases. They also demonstrate how climate scientists and broadcasters can work together to deliver timely, understandable information that helps people to understand the changing weather, and how to adapt and prepare. BBC Media Action trains local broadcasters and connects them with scientists to create programmes that help communities adapt and survive – an approach that will become ever more critical as climate-related weather shocks continue.”

Nicolas Bellet, Climate Information Expert at ICPAC, said:

“The media has an essential role to play in communicating accurate, actionable climate information that listeners can understand.  Our work to improve weather services and to be at the forefront of climate forecasting helps communities to prepare, to adapt and to survive weather shocks, including more frequent and more devastating drought and flooding. These podcasts have captured both the harsh reality of how traditional ways of life are threatened, as well as the remarkable ability of people to adapt their livelihoods in order to survive.”

The episodes cover stories of forecasting, adaptation, decision-making, projections and policy – how people are experiencing climate change, what information they rely on to prepare and adapt, what changes are possible when confronted by extreme weather shocks, what lies ahead and what communities expect from their leaders. The podcasts are presented by Diana Njeru, project director for BBC Media Action in Kenya.

Living Climate Change Africa is available on YouTube, Acast, Spotify and Amazon and on the BBC Media Action website at bbcmediaction.org.

Living Climate Change Africa was produced with funding from the European Union.  

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About BBC Media Action:

BBC Media Action is the BBC’s international charity - we believe in the power of media and communication for good. We work in more than 20 countries supporting the independent media essential to democracy and development. Last year, our projects and programmes reached 120 million people facing poverty, inequality and insecurity with information they could trust, helping to improve health, protect livelihoods and our planet, bridge divides, challenge prejudice, and save and change lives.

We are not funded by the BBC TV Licence Fee and we rely on our donors and partners to carry our work. To find out more, please see bbcmediaaction.org.

About ICPAC:

ICPAC is a Regional Climate Centre accredited by the World Meteorological Organization. It provides climate services to 11 East African countries. Our services aim at creating resilience in a region deeply affected by climate change and extreme weather. For more information, please see www.icpac.net.

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