Fondation Hirondelle has sent a team of African journalists to cover talks at COP24, the international summit on climate change, taking place from 3‑14 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland. The aim is to provide information to the people of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Niger and Guinea, and to give them a voice.

The 24th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held in Katowice in southern Poland towards the end of 2018. Since COP21 in Paris in 2015, Fondation Hirondelle has brought in journalists to cover these summits who are working for media organisations that it has set up (or is supporting) in a number of African countries facing multiple crises and the effects of climate change. The media hold the key to understanding these issues for the common people, enabling them to develop adaptability and resilience, which is particularly vital in societies facing major security, political or social crises.

To cover COP24, Fondation Hirondelle is bringing to Katowice journalists from Mali, Niger, Guinea, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Throughout the summit, they will cover the political talks, especially the work of their countries’ delegations, and civil society initiatives, as well as other innovative approaches to adapt to climate change in their countries. Through field reports made before the summit, they will also highlight the reality and challenges facing local populations that are directly affected. The journalists will be supervised and assisted during their stay by a Fondation Hirondelle editor-in-chief. Their radio and video productions will be broadcast in French and local languages by their country’s media and will also be available on social media. All productions will also be made available in French on a special page of Fondation Hirondelle’s website.