The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has partnered with Knutsford University to launch the National Climate and Environmental Communication Initiative (NCECI), a groundbreaking program aimed at bridging the gap between climate knowledge and action in Ghana.
This initiative seeks to strengthen the capacity of media professionals and communicators to report on environmental and climate issues accurately and creatively.
According to Prof. Nana Ama Klutse, EPA CEO, climate change is a pressing global issue that threatens lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems. She emphasized that climate information often remains confined to technical reports and policy circles, underscoring the need for effective communication.
The NCECI initiative will address this gap by providing training and support to journalists, skilled communicators, corporate actors, and educators.
Key Objectives of NCECI includes equipping media professionals with the skills to report accurately and creatively on climate issues, promote transparency and accountability through corporate sustainability communications and ESG reporting, foster collaboration among government, academia, the private sector, and development partners to promote a united national response as well as engage youth and communities through the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) framework.
Prof. Klutse emphasized that NCECI positions Ghana to tell its own story of resilience, innovation, and leadership in a language that people, partners, and the world can understand.
She added that a well-informed nation is a stronger negotiating nation, particularly as Ghana approaches COP30.
“The initiative will foster collaboration among key stakeholders, including the Ghana Journalists Association, the Media Foundation for West Africa, corporate networks, and development partners”.
On his part, the Pro-Chancellor of Knutsford University, Bishop John Kwabena, expressed the university’s willingness to execute the initiative to the benefit of the country.
He said, “We are happy to be working with communicators and journalists. Almost every year until quite recently, we have given training free of charge to journalists of all walks of life. To give them basic education or knowledge in management, in leadership, in communication, all the essentials that they need to do their work well.”
Source: www.climatewatchonline.com
