Some of the attendees of the pre-conference Masterclass for climate change held by Daystar University School of Communication at the Nairobi Campus.

By Timothy Oiro

The 4th Annual Scientific Conference which took place from August 13-15, hosted a pre-conference masterclass from August 11-12, 2025, at the Daystar Nairobi Campus.

The masterclass, which preceded the three-day conference, was organized by the School of Communication in conjunction with the Kenya Editors Guild, German Agency of International Cooperation (GIZ), and Amref International University (AMIU), was intended to equip journalists and communication students with vital and fundamental skills required to curate and pitch climate stories. It paved the way for the 4th Annual Scientific Conference on climate change for planetary earth which took place from August 13-15, 2025.

The two-day pre-conference masterclass featured renowned media personalities, among them the President of the Kenya Editors Guild, Ms. Zubeida Kananu, who challenged young journalists on their mandate of craft messages and opinions that solve societal issues as members of the 4th estate.

“As journalists, we are shapers of public opinion and not just informers,” said Ms. Kananu, further adding that there is need to change the narrative on climate reporting from not focusing on the sad stories to coming up with stories that provide solutions to the challenges. She urged everyone to take a renewed sense of purpose from the masterclass.

Chief Editor Nation Media Group, Mr. Joe Ageyo presented on how to craft a compelling climatic story. He stated that effective storytelling helps people to grasp the scale of what the writer is communicating without being overwhelmed. He further gave an illustration of a good compelling story which combines human voices and expert, policy and planet by localizing and contextualizing the science.

Andrew Goto, a climate finance expert at GIZ elucidated the key principles of climate finance which include Country ownership, Harmonization of Process and alignment of Finance, Responsiveness to country needs and climate vulnerability, Transparency and Accountability.  He further stated that without climate financing, one cannot have strategies in place to address climate issues.

Dr. Rosemary Kowuor, a Senior Lecturer in the Daystar University School of Communication expounded on the topic of solution-based journalism which does not sugarcoat reality, but is solely based on rigorous evidence tandem to responses and social problems. She highlighted the four pillars of Solution Journalism (SOJO) namely: Response, Evidence, Insights and Limitations, further stating that story telling is the hallmark of communication and involves crafting narratives that move the heart, spark imagination and inspire action.

Veteran journalist, Oketch Kendo, stressed that good climate journalism should have a human face and a human story behind it. He concluded by challenging journalists to enforce accountability and desist from seeking to impress the political class.  “It is the responsibility of a journalist to demand for accountability by doing the necessary to ease social injustice rather than impress the ruling class,” he said.

The pre-conference Masterclass was a resounding success as it provided a platform for young journalists and communication students to gain practical skills on climate reporting.