ISLAMABAD, September 10: The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), in collaboration with the German Red Cross (GRC), has concluded a two-day national training workshop aimed at strengthening climate journalism and improving reporting from climate-vulnerable regions across Pakistan.
More than 30 journalists and field reporters from Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took part in the programme, which focused on climate science, policy, data journalism, mobile reporting and human-centred storytelling.
The workshop was organised by PRCS through its Climate Change Adaptation and Media & Communication departments with support from the German Red Cross.
Sessions covered the fundamentals of climate reporting, story development, climate policy and the use of reliable data and sources. Participants also worked on practical news exercises and received editorial feedback on their stories.
Climate and environmental journalist Uneeba Waqar led sessions on climate science, reporting approaches and story development, while broadcast journalist and mobile journalism trainer Abdul Razak Khatti conducted a dedicated session on the use of smartphones and digital tools for climate reporting.
The programme also included training on climate data journalism, identifying climate angles in everyday stories and developing narratives that reflect the experiences of affected communities.
PRCS Chairperson Farzhana Naek said journalists could play an important role in highlighting practical climate solutions and bringing greater visibility to communities already responding to environmental challenges.
She said strengthening climate reporting could help connect local experiences with broader policy and public awareness.
PRCS Secretary General Muhammad Abaidullah Khan said climate change was increasingly affecting communities and livelihoods across Pakistan, making accurate and responsible reporting more important.
He said improving journalists’ understanding of climate issues could help translate complex information into clear and relevant stories for the public, policymakers and other stakeholders.
German Red Cross representatives Asif Aman and Ghulam Rasool Farooqui also addressed participants, while PRCS officials briefed journalists on the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the organisation’s work in Pakistan.
PRCS said the training was designed to help journalists produce more accurate, evidence-based and locally relevant coverage of climate change and its impact on communities.