Impact Storytelling: Media and Journalism as Catalysts for Climate Action
The Pulitzer Center's Chief Engagement and Education Officer, Flora Pereira, is at the 2024 Ethical Assembly Conference, discussing how the Center creates ways to engage students worldwide with its supported stories.
Pereira explains that, for example, when considering how to engage 12-year-old students in the DRC, the Pulitzer Center talked to their teachers and then created a comic book to help students connect with stories from the Congo Basin.
Learn more about our work!
👉 https://bit.ly/EngagementPC
Justin Maxon: it's not about bringing your own assumptions into the storytelling process
“Being responsive in my work is about being in constant conversation with the folks that I’m collaborating with. It’s about active listening; it’s not about bringing your own assumptions into the storytelling process; it’s not about making unilateral decisions without participants’ consent,” says photographer Justin Maxon.
Tomorrow, join Maxon and author Judith Surber as they explain how responsive storytelling influences public perceptions of substance abuse in a webinar with New York Times Opinion editors Jackie Bates & Alexandra Sifferlin.
Register now!
👉 https://bit.ly/3XlnOks
Five Years of Teaching The 1619 Project
Five years after its publication in the New York Times Magazine in August 2019, “The 1619 Project” has expanded to include a variety of creative texts and media resources that further engage audiences with the project’s themes. As the original and continued education partner of “The 1619 Project,” we are excited to commemorate the Project’s milestone and reflect on our 1619 Education work in our first 1619 Impact Report.
This report captures some of the powerful work done by our K-12 Education, Campus, and Outreach teams, alongside our educator partners, to directly reach over 28,00 teachers and students across the United States. In the past five years, we’ve built a network of 541 educator partners through programs like the 1619 Education Network, facilitated 203 events and workshops attended by over 15,000 people, and published over 100 curricular materials on our award-winning 1619education.org website, which has been viewed over 400,000 times by people in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
We look forward to continuing this important work to engage educators and students with the Project and the critical questions it raises, and celebrate its sustained impact together.
Read the full 1619 Impact Report at 👉 https://bit.ly/1619Edu5y
Climate + Labor - Green transition
As the world shifts away from fossil fuels to green energy sources to fight climate change, mining these materials is having devastating environmental effects, while those working on these energy supply chains endure harsh working conditions.
The Pulitzer Center's Our Work/Environment initiative encourages journalists to reveal the real cost behind the transition to clean energy and how it is affecting and threatening the livelihoods of the communities behind it.
Our supported stories have shed light on the human and ecological burden of the green energy transition. Learn more! 👉 https://bit.ly/C-Lpc
Climate Change Is Drying Out Canopy Plants—That Could Mean Less Water For The Entire Rainforest
Fieldwork and experiments over the last 10 years show that epiphytes—small treetop plants—in rainforests worldwide will be the first plants to die in a hotter, less-predictable climate. They are also the plants that play an outsized role in keeping the rainforest wet.
In Costa Rica, climate change’s effects are already on display in the high rainforest canopy. With less water, epiphytes begin to die, setting off a cascade of changes to water collection and distribution throughout the forest.
Greenhouse experiments suggest impacts for not only Costa Rica, but also forests around the world. These little plants offer a window, and a warning, of just how fragile some ecosystems may be—and how subtle climatic changes can, over time, have big impacts not only on flora, but also on the people and animals that depend on them.
Read this story by Pulitzer Center grantee Amy McDermott for PNAS Front Matter.
👉 https://bit.ly/4fVDYtq
How do rising ocean levels impact coastal communities?
Sea level rise is viewed by many as a climate issue, but it also has a harsh impact on workers in coastal communities, who depend on the ocean and its biodiversity for their daily lives and income.
The Pulitzer Center's Our Work/Environment initiative encourages journalists to explore the complex connection between climate change and labor.
Our supported reporting has revealed how fish stocks worldwide are being affected by rising tides and temperatures, threatening local fishing communities and debilitating food security.
Learn more 👉 https://bit.ly/C-Lpc
Our Work/Environment initiative
Climate change and labor rights issues are widely reported, but what about the connection between these two issues?
As extreme heat and weather events escalate worldwide, climate change is experienced most intensely by the working class—from outdoor and farm workers to delivery workers, factory workers, and fisherfolk.
The Pulitzer Center’s Our Work/Environment journalism initiative explores this important intersection. Our research found that media outlets have lagged in reporting not only the complexity of work’s relationship to climate change, but also the interconnection itself.
Our Work/Environment encourages journalists to explore this connection and potential solutions. We are actively seeking project proposals from journalists who are interested in covering the connection between climate change and work.
Explore the Our Work/Environment initiative to read more stories and find ways to get involved.
👉 https://bit.ly/C-Lpc
Pulitzer Center 2024 Q2 Report
What has the Pulitzer Center done in 2024?
We have supported over 400 stories on underreported issues around the globe, hosted over 170 education events connecting over 14,800 students and 580 teachers, and more!
Check out our 2024 Q2 Report.
👉 https://bit.ly/PC2024Q2
Can seaweed save America’s seas?
Journalist Alexandra Talty started her Ocean Reporting Network (ORN) fellowship with a complex question: Can seaweed save America’s seas?
After one year of dedicated investigation, the project explores American seaweed production, business models, and harvest strategies. It delves into the impact of kelp on ocean biodiversity, water quality, and how it interplays with other ocean economies, communities, and climate change mitigation strategies.
Published by Civil Eats, the series tackles how researchers, fishers, and businesses can work together to create a blue economy.
Read the series "America's Booming Seaweed Industry” by Pulitzer Center ORN Fellow Alexandra Talty for Civil Eats.
👉 https://bit.ly/3SiYZUK
Public Defender
Heather Shaner, a fierce, blue-haired defense attorney from D.C., has been championing those who can’t afford legal representation for over 40 years. However, after January 6th, 2021, when a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, her empathy was put to the ultimate test. Shaner was tasked with defending two nonviolent rioters: Jack Griffith, a social media influencer, and Annie Howell, a single mother and painter. According to Shaner, both were misled by misinformation instigating the attack, believing they were defending democracy.
The documentary Public Defender, supported by the Pulitzer Center, delves into the fragile state of U.S. democracy and the people dedicated to safeguarding it. Watch as Shaner’s journey reveals how trust and understanding can bridge the political divide and uncover our shared humanity.
A documentary by grantee Andrea Kalin and Spark Media.
👉 https://bit.ly/PublicDfdrTpc
Young Palestinians Face a Steep Toll on Mental Health
While hearing explosions on the news, “it just twisted something inside of me, like I felt those emotions coming out. I was scared,” said Dalia Amra, a 10th grade student in Ramallah. “I was terrified, actually. It could be me next.”
Since before the start of Israel's siege of Gaza, Palestinian mental health has been under distress. In 2022, a collaborative report found that more than half of Palestinian adults in the West Bank and Gaza suffer from depression, about 10 times higher than the global average. The report also noted high rates of PTSD and other mental health issues.
That report did not include nearly half of the population in the region, though: Palestinian youth.
This short documentary film explores the trauma experienced by Palestinian youth and their families living in the West Bank as they watch the carnage on their friends and family through the news and social media.
“This brings anxiety. Most of them, they feel hopeless, they feel helpless,” says Muna Odeh, a psychotherapist in Ramallah who runs a mental health hotline for Palestinians. “This time, it is hard for them. It is hard as a youth to live in a place where nothing is certain.”
A documentary by grantee Kern Hendricks for Undark Magazine.
👉 https://bit.ly/4bAtL2a
Ancient History of Populations, Plants, and Fire Point to Solutions for the Future
Amazonian landscapes are the millenary legacies of human groups within the territory, where research into the past helps map the forest’s tomorrow.
The Amazon rainforest is resilient - a living body that is half indomitable, half domesticated. Its vegetation cover, some 300 million hectares of Brazilian soil, is very biodiverse: it has 13% of the world’s tree species. All of them, like the types of açaí found in the region’s landscape, are connected to anthropic management, i.e. the management of the original peoples of the past.
“The traditional is not traditional because it remains the same. It concerns the type of relationship that is established with the environment,” says Renata Bergamo Caramez, environmental manager and PhD in Forest Resources.
Discover how indigenous peoples have shaped the Amazon over millennia, selecting and cultivating plants that sustain unique ecosystems. A story of connection and resilience.
Story by Rainforest Journalism Fund grantee Carolina Pinheiro with contributions of Amanda Magnani for Infoamazonia.
👉 https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/modern-agroforestry-ancient-history-populations-plants-and-fire-point-solutions-future
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“Um mergulho profundo no universo amazônico. A reportagem especial “Agroflorestas modernas, história milenar das populações, plantas e fogo apontam soluções para o futuro”, publicada em celebração ao Dia dos Povos Indígenas, no dia 19 de abril, conta sobre o legado da ocupação humana na Amazônia.
Temas como o manejo intuitivo da floresta pelas populações tradicionais, o que inclui a interação com as matas, o fogo e o solo, além da forma como a arqueologia revela a relação entre os amazônidas e o meio ambiente, são premissas para o planejamento de futuro para o bioma. A Amazônia é uma floresta antropogênica.
Sua megabiodiversidade está diretamente conectada à herança ancestral dos povos indígenas. Na verdade, passado e presente estão interligados, uma
Gabriel Geiger - AI Spotlight Series
We're thrilled to introduce Gabriel Geiger as a co-designer for the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series! Geiger's work sheds light on the misuse of AI in European welfare systems, highlighting its impact on people's lives.
Geiger's investigations expose how AI can exacerbate social inequalities. In Denmark, a controversial AI program designed to identify welfare fraud carries heavy privacy concerns as it enables mass surveillance, scrutinizing every aspect of a person's life.
The city of Rotterdam uses a flawed system that has been found to discriminate based on ethnicity and gender, leaving a trail of adversity for those targeted.
For the past 6 years, Spain's National Institute of Social Security has relied on an opaque and inaccurate algorithm to identify potential sick leave fraud, potentially forcing sick individuals back to work prematurely.
We invite all to apply for the AI Spotlight Series and learn how to investigate the social and ethical implications of AI technologies.
👉 https://bit.ly/AISptlghtSpc
Karen Hao - AI Spotlight Series
We're thrilled to announce Karen Hao as the lead designer for the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series!
Hao's reporting expertise explores the impact AI has on our society. Her reporting stories from Venezuela, South Africa, Indonesia, and New Zealand tackle issues such as new models of labor exploitation, AI surveillance tools that potentially enable racial profiling through facial and behavioral analysis, and how communities work together to protect their rights and defend their heritage.
We invite all to apply for the AI Spotlight Series and learn how to investigate the social and ethical implications of AI technologies.
👉 https://bit.ly/AISptlghtSpc
Lam Thuy Vo - AI Spotlight Series
We're thrilled to introduce AI Accountability Fellow Lam Thuy Vo, a key designer of the AI Spotlight Series program!
Lam Thuy Vo's work exemplifies the program's focus, as she combines data analysis with real-world reporting to explore the impact of AI-driven policies on communities.
We invite all to apply for the AI Spotlight Series and learn how to investigate the social and ethical implications of AI technologies.
👉 https://bit.ly/AISptlghtSpc
