Free Journalism Seminar
16 September: 6:00–7:15 p.m. (UTC-4)
This journalism seminar is hosted by:
On 21–23 September 2021, the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) will host a digital conference focused entirely on the Amazon rainforest as a climate tipping point – and how knowledge, science and action can help us avoid a global environmental disaster.
Ahead of the event, join journalists from across the Amazon Biome and around the world to connect with top regional and global scientists and experts, including leaders of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and Afrodescendant Peoples, for interviews and insight on the region’s most pressing stories.
Share your pitch with us for news articles, features, and in-depth reporting related to the Amazon, and develop the story with the Mongabay Latam bureau (see more information below)!
This seminar is available in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
SPEAKERS
Alexa Vélez
Mongabay Latam
Andrés Bermúdez
Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (CLIP)
Dora Montero
Consejo de Redacción
Oscar Campanini
Centro de Documentación e Información Bolivia (CEDIB)
Julia Urrunaga
Agencia de Investigación Ambiental (EIA)
María Isabel Torres
Mongabay Latam
Patricia Gualinga
lideresa indígena kichwa de la comunidad de Sarayaku, Ecuador
Rodrigo Botero
Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS)
Ruth Noguerón
World Resources Institute (WRI)
Stefano Wrobleski
InfoAmazonia Brasil
AGENDA
- UTC -4
DAY 1 (15 September)
Journalism workshop – Satellite mapping: leveraging technology to tell impactful stories
[Workshop Part 1] Global Forest Watch and how to monitor real-time deforestation
Length: 40 minutes
Speaker: Ruth Nogueron, Researcher, World Resources Institute (WRI)
Interaction: 10-minute round of questions at the end of the presentation
Global Forest Watch is an open-source web application to monitor global forests in near real-time. In this session, you’ll learn how it works and how to use data correctly. We’ll cover what a deforestation alert is; how to search for recent alerts; and how to study deforested areas, from analyzing long-term data to using the data correctly in a publication.
[Workshop Part 2] Crime maps: emblematic deforestation cases
Length: 15 minutes
Speakers: Alexa Vélez, General Editor, Mongabay Latam
Interaction: 10-minute round of questions at the end of the presentation
Mongabay Latam will present two investigative reports. The first report, Crime Mapping, addresses recent deforestation in Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. The problems detected in these areas include the invasion of territories, the introduction of illicit crops, illegal logging, and threats against Indigenous leaders and to protected areas. The second report, Mennonites in Peru, tells the story of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon.
We will also explore how to develop a story using a deforestation alert, the challenges that arise when covering deforestation in the Amazon, and the sources available to you.
(UTC-4)
[Panel] How did the pandemic aggravate the crisis in the Amazon? From land grabbing to violence against environmental defenders
Length: 60 minutes
Moderator: María Isabel Torres, Mongabay Latam Director
Interaction: 15-minute round of questions at the end of the presentation
Panelists:
- Rodrigo Botero, Director of Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS)
- Oscar Campanini, director del Centro de Documentación e Información Bolivia (CEDIB)
- Patricia Gualinga, Indigenous leader of the Kichwa people of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon in Ecuador
- Julia Urrunaga, Peruvian Director of Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
DAY 2 (16 September)
(UTC-4)
[Panel] Transnational crimes: collaborative journalism to investigate the Amazon
Panel length: 60 minutes
Moderator: Alexa Vélez, General Director, Mongabay Latam
Panelists:
- Andrés Bermúdez, editor of the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) – Case: Wood without a trace (in Spanish)
- Stefano Wrobleski, InfoAmazonia journalist – Case: Venezuela, the smugglers’ paradise
- Dora Montero, journalist for the Consejo de Redacción (CdR) – Case: Land of Resistants
ACCESS TO EXPERTS
IMPACT REPORTING
SEE BELOW FOR THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Interested in attending this seminar? Fill out the registration form.
The best pitches will receive US$1000 from Mongabay, Mongabay editorial assistance, and the winning story will be published on Mongabay and Landscape News.
This seminar will take place on 15 and 16 September 2021. Presenters will include experts on the Amazon, representatives from local communities, and media outlets dedicated to covering issues in the Amazon.
Improve your practical skills and gain the required knowledge needed to effectively report on this critical topic.
- This opportunity is open to all accredited journalists from anywhere in the world.
- We’re looking for journalists who currently cover Amazonia-related issues from any angle
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kelly Quintero at k.quintero@cgiar.org.
We can only accept a limited number of participants for this seminar and spaces will fill up quickly. Applicants will be informed between 6–10 September 2021.
Please include:
- Your 150–200 pitch (optional)
- A link to work you’ve published
- A link to your CV (optional)
- Gender (Male, Female, Non-binary, rather not say)
- Location (city/town and country)
- Which publication or outlet you are currently working for or collaborating with