AT LEAST 20 campus writers from across Leyte province will join this year’s environmental journalism workshop organized by the Association of Young Environmental Journalists (AYEJ) and the Visayas State University-Department of Development Communication (VSU-DDC) in Baybay City from May 1 to 3, 2025.
“We’re grateful to AYEJ for choosing VSU as partner for this event. We need to build young environmental storytellers here in Leyte because of our vulnerability to all forms of disasters,” said Assistant Professor Ulderico Alviola, VSU-DDC chairperson.
“From the strongest typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and even forest fires, we all experienced it here. One of the ways in which we reduce this vulnerability is environmental protection. And we need young people to build that narrative for us,” he added.
The environmental journalism training program, dubbed Green Beat Caravan, will gather college-level campus journalists from Leyte Normal University (LNU), City College of Ormoc (CCO), Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT), Abuyog Community College (ACC), Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU), Franciscan College of the Immaculate Conception (FCIC), and VSU.
“With Green Beat Caravan, our goal is to equip participants not just with technical skills, but also with tools to navigate the unique challenges of environmental journalism,” said AYEJ Executive Director Val Amiel Vestil in a statement.
As the Philippines remains one of the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders and journalists, a salient point of the program will be tackling issues of journalist safety and security, including knowledge of legal frameworks and referral pathways available to them, according to the organizers.
With AYEJ’s expertise in environmental journalism and VSU’s commitment to environmental conservation, this collaboration aims to provide opportunities for the youth to better understand the role of media in achieving a sustainable future for all, they added.
AYEJ, a youth-led environmental nonprofit formed in Dumaguete City in 2017, works to engage and educate civil society on environmental sustainability.
It is also a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Youth.
This year’s Green Beat Caravan is fully supported by the Government of Canada through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, in partnership with the Philippine Association of Communication Educators (Pace).
Launched on AYEJ's social media platforms on December 1, 2024, Green Beat Caravan’s training is delivered on a hybrid modality, with the in-person workshops happening from January to June in Cagayan de Oro City, Zamboanga City, Cebu City, Baybay City, Malolos City, and Naga City, respectively.
The event will culminate with a close-out conference as an adjacent event to Pace’s 50th anniversary celebration in October 2025.
AYEJ has also partnered with the Department of Education’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service, Internews, and the US Embassy in the Philippines. (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)