Reporting on Climate Change – and its Significance for Democracy

The idea is to discuss current socio-political developments and trends as well as the role and influence of the media in international affairs with representatives from politics and science.

Climate change is one of the greatest threats of the 20th century and affects globally all areas of our lives: society, economy, supply chains, work, agriculture, health, nutrition, mobility. It promotes fear, insecurity, social division, lack of freedom, migration, poverty – and thus also affects the state and resilience of democracy worldwide. Against this background, high-quality, fact-based and objective journalism is of particular importance.

A special conference programme gathers 20-25 young journalists between the ages of 20 and 30 from all over Europe. Discussions range from investigative journalism to local journalism, crisis reporting, climate reporting, and fake news. Impulses for the modules come from renowned experts. The YEJ enables participants to exchange ideas with colleagues from all over Europe, to learn about the different conditions and challenges for journalism in different political and social systems and to create a sustainable network between the participants.

This project aims to teach participants what journalism can look like using successful examples and give a training into investigating environmental risks and impacts on a cross-regional level, based on investigations produced through Environmental Investigative Forum's network, and invite senior editors (digital and/or on-site) to talk about exemplary projects.

About the organisation

The non-profit association Potsdam Media International e.V. was founded in 2006 to continue the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium (M100SC) and the M100 Young European Journalists Workshop (M100YEJ) conferences, initiated in 2005 by a group of leading media and political figures as part of Potsdam's bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2010.