St. George’s, Grenada — May 21, 2025
Media professionals and representatives from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) from across the Caribbean participated in joint training workshops in St. George’s, Grenada. The sessions, hosted by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), in collaboration with the Grenda Airports Authority, the UK Met Office, and the University of the West Indies’ Caribbean School of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) aimed to strengthen the quality, accuracy and frequency of climate communication and reporting, while improving collaboration between media and the providers of climate information and services.
Supported by the Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) programme, in partnership with the European Union (EU), the workshops brought together 14 journalists from television, radio, print, and digital outlets to build skills in interpreting, reporting, and disseminating climate information. They joined 18 NMHS representatives, in a shared effort to enhance climate communication by bridging the gap between science and the public.
Dr. David Farrell, Principal of CIMH, underscored the importance of this joint effort stating “With climate-related risks increasing across the Caribbean, the regional climate community must ensure that the communication of climate information is clear, accurate, and reaches the public in a way that supports risk-informed decision-making. This training bridges the gap between scientists and journalists, empowering both to work together for the public good.”
Bringing remarks on behalf of EU Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, Ms. Virginie André, Programme Manager, Disaster Risk Management, European Union Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, emphasized the EU’s commitment to enhancing climate communication and welcomed the initiative as part of its broader support for climate resilience. Ms. André noted that the media play a crucial role in translating complex scientific data into clear, accurate, and actionable information. This training, she added, is key to empowering both the media and NMHSs to collaborate more effectively in delivering timely weather and climate information to the public.
The workshops, which included interactive sessions, scenario-based exercises, and joint media-meteorological collaborations, aimed to improve the accuracy and visibility of climate-related news coverage and empower NMHSs to better engage with stakeholders, including the media. The programme was jointly facilitated by the UK Met Office, a global leader in climate services, and CARIMAC, regional experts in media and communication training.
Dr. Jane Strachan, Head of International Applied Climate Science and Services at the UK Met Office, reflected on the value of the inter-disciplinary collaboration stating “The media can play an extremely important role in translating and communicating weather and climate information to the public in a way that is meaningful and relevant. Building trust and collaboration between scientists, journalists and ultimately the public, is a crucial mechanism to support climate literacy and action. We’re honored to be part of this mutual learning activity.”
Dr. Patrick Prendergast, Director of CARIMAC, noted “Collaborations like these go a far way in increasing appreciation for the critical role of communication, and media in particular, in reducing the lapses in response to critical climate and weather information. The Caribbean is particularly vulnerable and as an institution committed to the sustainable development of the region, CARIMAC is honored to be engaged in this multi-agency, multi-stakeholder capacity building dialogue”. The workshops culminated in a joint half-day designed to strengthen collaboration between these key groups. These sessions featured a collaborative recap and discussion to identify joint challenges and solutions to promote sustained engagement with climate issues, strengthen decision-making, and build increased resilience across the Caribbean.