The Climate Watch and the Centre for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD) on Saturday convened a half-day training workshop in Dhaka to equip a new cohort of journalists with tools for more inclusive, evidence-based climate reporting under the CPRD–TCW Reporting Fellowship 2025.
Held at the BRAC Center Inn in Mohakhali, the programme brought together environmental experts, gender specialists and indigenous knowledge advocates to guide the eight selected fellows on storytelling that reflects the lived realities of communities facing climate shocks.
Opening the session, Yusuf Munna and Shamsuddin Illius said the initiative aims to strengthen a new generation of climate reporters capable of connecting scientific research with marginal voices. “This fellowship is designed to push journalists beyond event-based coverage and toward deeper, people-centered narratives,” they told participants.
CPRD chief executive Md Shamsuddoha highlighted Bangladesh’s growing adaptation challenges, urging reporters to use research, data and expert perspectives to contextualise local impacts. “Climate reporting must show the structural vulnerabilities that make communities disproportionately exposed,” he said.
A session on gender and intersectionality was led by Shameem Ara Sheuli, Internews’ Bangladesh country representative of Internews, who stressed that climate stories often overlook women, minorities and those at the frontlines of social change. “If these voices are missing, the story is incomplete,” she noted.
Biodiversity researcher Pavel Partha of Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) underscored the links between biodiversity loss, ecological risks and disappearing local knowledge systems, calling on journalists to document how indigenous practices contribute to resilience.
Fellows later presented their reporting plans, outlining investigations ranging from coastal adaptation to urban pollution and community-driven solutions.
Among those present were Md Ibrahim Khalilullah of The Climate Watch and Sheikha Nur Ataya Rabbi, who both emphasised the importance of strong narrative structure, accuracy and clarity in climate storytelling. They urged the fellows to craft stories that not only inform but resonate with readers and influence public thinking.
In the final segment, Roufa Khanum of BRAC University’s Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) urged participants to amplify marginal voices in national climate discourse. “Communities are not just victims they are innovators, and journalism must reflect that truth,” she said.
The workshop concluded with closing remarks from Shamsuddin Illius, who praised the fellows’ commitment and said their stories would help bridge the gap between climate policy and on-the-ground realities.
