In Indonesia, EJN's Media Grantee Trains Journalists to Amplify Women’s Perspectives in Climate Reporting

In 2023, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, through its Asia-Pacific project, awarded a media grant to Konde.co, an independent media outlet focusing on gender issues.

With EJN support, Konde conducted an “ecofeminism” training for 30 journalists, and from this cohort, selected 8 fellows to produce environmental stories told through a gender lens. Konde chose a mix of professional journalists representing both mainstream and alternative media, and journalism students for the opportunity. 

"It’s important that our journalists don’t get stuck creating normative news. We trained them to report on the climate crisis from a women's perspective. They had never received such a training before,” said Luviana Ariyanti, the editor-in-chief of Konde.

Arrneto Bayliss, one of the participants, was one of the selected fellows who hadn’t reported on environmental issues with a gender lens before. A journalism student studying at LPM Didaktika Universitas Negeri Jakarta, he put the principles he learned into practice while reporting on water issues in Muara Angke, Jakarta, an urban area on the outskirts of Jakarta, inhabited by poor residents who lack access to clean water. 

Bayliss covered the issue from the perspective of pregnant women living in the area who are facing health challenges caused by the lack of clean water. "I learned about gender intersectionality during the training. I realized that the problems in Muara Angke are not solely due to patriarchal culture but are the result of structural failures in building a public sanitation system. As a result, women are forced to work to be able to buy potable water, and take on labor such as peeling shellfish for up to 12 hours even while pregnant," he told EJN. 

• Read Bayliss’s story.

After the fellows published their environmental stories, Konde compiled their work into a book titled “Untuk Perempuan di Tanah Kami” (For Women in Our Land). A hundred hard copies were printed and distributed during the launch event on November 23, 2023. An e-version was also shared online for those who could not attend the event.

“Both Konde and EJN believe increasing the knowledge and capacity of journalists and student press to report on environment and climate crisis topics more effectively is critical,” noted EJN’s former Indonesia content coordinator, Florence Armein.

Konde’s Ariyanti is happy with the fellows’ reports that resulted from the training, however, she acknowledges that both journalists and media organizations must commit to continuing the work to make the women’s voice heard. Nabila Wahyu, Konde Project Manager, added that feedback surveys revealed that participants were interested in advanced training to further improve their skills in this area.  

Banner image: Hans Nicholas Jong, a journalist from Mongabay Indonesia, Devi Anggraini, chairperson of Perempuan Aman, a local NGO for environmental issues and Indigenous rights, and two fellows, Emi La Palau and Arnetto Bayliss / Credit: Dewi Sari.