UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were first adopted in September 2015, at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, to create an agenda that is universal, ambitious, sustainable, and yet very much still “of the people, by the people and for the people”.
To this end, it is vital that sustainable development, and in particular, climate change, be addressed through a multidisciplinary lens; this approach provides a framework through which research can be carried out and easily disseminated, thus further enabling the education and growth of communities.
In this sense, communication and the media remains an effective and powerful way to reach out to the people, as its element of storytelling can weave together not only narratives, but also ethical communication, reporting and advocacy from various perspectives and stakeholders, albeit from scientists, policy makers, civil society, academics and citizen.
In fact, bringing in different views from various stakeholders will help to mobilize changes for the better future, particularly in the area of climate change, which is in line with goal 13 in the SDGs.
This two-day workshop challenges participants to revisit and reconceptualize theories and practices of storytelling in a digital age. In an age where anticipated changes in sustainability and development continue to occur, the medium of storytelling, so crucial to communicators and journalists, have to be continuously updated.
Equipped with the relevant theories and contemporary models of storytelling, participants engage in pertinent case studies, and contribute in a hands-on digital storytelling workshop facilitated by highly experienced industry practitioners.
Specific Objectives:
- To introduce the global and changing contexts for sustainable development and the role of communication in presenting these issues to the public
- To motivate the various stakeholders to conceptualise quality communication and journalism focusing on sustainable development
- To gather feedback on postgraduate studies on sustainable development and communication.
Outputs:
- Inputs for media and other stakeholders on how to frame sustainable development in the current global context
- Sample or template story ideas for media and community groups on sustainable development
- Feedback to the sustainable development & journalism programme based on evaluation forms, discussions during the sessions and roundtable discussion.
Resources:
Contact:
Ming-Kuok LIM, PhD.
Advisor for Communication and Information, UNESCO Jakarta
mk.lim(at)unesco.org
