The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), UNDP, and UN Volunteers (UNV) launch a second round of  the ‘Young Environmental Journalists’ campaign, to address environmental and human rights impacts in the mining sector in four resource-rich countries: Colombia, Kenya, Mongolia and Mozambique.
This joint campaign is aimed at empowering young volunteers between the ages of 18-31, to raise awareness about, and have a voice in decisions around management, and use of mineral resources.
The 70 selected ‘Young Environmental Journalists’ will work with the joint Swedish EPA – UNDP Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) to produce inspiring stories of change and build a strong network of young journalists and environmental and human rights defenders.
The best stories and interviews will be published by the Inter Press Service (IPS) and other media outlets in the four programme countries, including Kenya’s Daily Reporter and In-Depth News (IDN). The stories will be promoted via UN, UNDP, EGP websitse and on Swedish Environment Protection Agency platform.
Mining sector is a major cause of biodiversity and ecosystem loss in many developing countries. It can threaten the land use pattern and the ecosystem, putting in jeopardy the already endangered wildlife and increasing the risk of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19. Mining-related pollution is also a major source of environmental degradation and health problems.
CRITERIA: To participate in the campaign, volunteers need to be
- Between 18 – 31 years of age, and register with the UNV online volunteering platform.
- Fluent in English and at least one of the local languages in Colombia, Kenya, Mongolia or Mozambique.
- The process is open to all, regardless of citizenship but demonstrating knowledge about environmental and human rights issues in the targeted four countries will be an asset.
- No traveling required.
PROCESS:
Seventy selected candidates through the UNV online volunteering service will take part in online training courses, including the UNITAR course on environmental governance of the mining sector, and participate in a series of webinars with journalists, editors and experts from August to November 2020.
The online volunteers who complete the mandatory online courses and participate in all virtual meetings will receive a certificate from UNV, UNDP and the Swedish EPA. They will also receive a certificate from the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). ÂÂ
More information:
At UNDP: Sangita Khadka, email: sangita.khadka@undp.org, Communications Specialist, UNDP, New York.
At UNV: Amina Said, email: amina.said@unv.org, Communications Specialist, United Nations Volunteers (UNV), Bonn.
For More Information:
