03 Oct 2023 WACC virtual conversation to look at role of local voices in climate action

The WACC online discussion “Local Climate Voices: The Missing Link to Real Climate Action?” on 11 October offers members and partners the chance to explore why and how the voices of local communities can contribute effectively to meeting the global threat of climate change.

“Local communities, especially low-income communities in developing and under-developed countries, are the hardest hit by climate change,” says Lorenzo Vargas, WACC’s Communication for Social Change program manager.

At the same time, he notes, such communities are probably the least heard in global policy debates. This is due in part to structural deficits such as poor connectivity, limited access to media and to information in one’s own language, or bias in media coverage.

“But the experiences and traditional knowledge of local communities are key to building climate resiliency, managing natural resources well, and ensuring meaningful local participation in global climate solutions,” Vargas stresses.

The Conversation Circle will look at how local voices can make a difference.

Participants will hear examples of local climate action in Asia and Central America from panelists Lia Mai Torres (Philippines), Dev Kumar Sunuwar (Nepal), and Victor Lopez Illescas (Guatemala) and consider how such local initiatives could be expanded into regional or international methods.

Vargas says this WACC Conversation Circle aims to delve deeper into whether a communication rights approach to climate change can open a new paradigm for effective action that provides avenues to meaningful local participation.

“Our objective is to develop at least one key recommendation for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) beginning in late November in the United Arab Emirates.”

Panelists for “Local Climate Voices: The Missing Link to Real Climate Action?” include

• Lia Mai Torres (Philippines), Executive Director, Center for Environmental Concerns [PDF]
• Dev Kumar Sunuwar (Nepal), Community Media Program Coordinator, Cultural Survival
• Victor Lopez Illescas (Guatemala), Program Officer for the Mexico and Central America region, Ford Foundation

Vargas will moderate the discussion. Interpretation will be available in Spanish and French.

Register to join the conversation on 11 October at 9am New York | 2pm London | 9pm Manila.

Indigenous reporters from La Voz de la CONFENIAE in Puyo, a city in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
Photo: WACC/CONFENIAE

Get Involved

Local Climate Voices: The Missing Link to Real Climate Action?
A virtual WACC Conversation Circle

Date: October 11
Time: 8am Bogotá | 9am New York | 2pm London | 6:45pm Kathmandu | 9pm Manila
Language: English, with Spanish and French interpretation
Register and share the word: bit.ly/LocalClimateVoices-Register