The presentation took place as part of the recently concluded conference «The Contribution of African Workers to Energy Sovereignty, Green Industrialization, and Africa’s Common Position at COP31», which was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was attended by trade union leaders, representatives of civil society, heads of journalistic organizations, and members of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN). The discussions focused on Africa’s approach to energy sovereignty, green industrialization, and a just transition, with particular attention paid to the role of the media in raising public awareness and supporting informed discussion.
The leadership was represented by FAJ President Omar Farouk Osman, ITUC-Africa General Secretary Joel Akhator Odigie, ITUC-Africa Deputy President Rose Omamo, FAJ Climate Change Working Group Chair Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, and Gambia Union of Journalists (GPU) President Isatou Keita. This event reflected the shared position of journalistic organizations and the African trade union movement, aimed at improving the coverage of a just transition as one of the key topics of public interest in Africa.
A just transition is one of the most significant topics in public interest journalism of our time, as it is directly linked to jobs, sources of income, workers’ rights, and the future of our economies. Africa and its population are among those who have been hardest hit by the climate crisis, which they had no part in creating, so a just transition becomes an important path to a more equitable and sustainable future. Journalists play a central role in this process, helping people understand the opportunities, challenges, and choices associated with the transition. «The leadership provides them with the knowledge and practical tools needed to report on these issues accurately, objectively, and responsibly, thereby strengthening journalism that informs the public, gives a voice to workers and communities, and helps take African perspectives into account when making decisions on the continent, while also contributing to the global dialogue on climate change», Osman said.
The guide, prepared by African journalists with the participation of experts in the fields of climate policy, labour, and media, contains practical approaches to creating content, examples from practice, and ethical guidelines for covering climate justice, climate finance, renewable energy, workers’ rights, information integrity, and other topics that are key to a just transition in Africa. It is based on FAJ’s ongoing work in the field of climate journalism and responds to the growing demand from journalists for practical resources adapted to the African context.
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, Chair of the FAJ Working Group on Climate Change, noted that the publication was prepared based on FAJ’s experience in working with journalists and trade unions across the continent. This guide is designed to reduce this gap and support accurate, ethical, and fact‑based journalism that reflects African realities, voices, and solutions. The guide, which will be published in English, French, and Portuguese, will be distributed through FAJ‑affiliated journalists’ unions and media organizations across Africa; its digital versions will be freely available to ensure maximum reach. The publication was funded by Mondiaal FNV, an international solidarity organization of the Dutch trade union movement (FNV), to support the expansion of trade unions’ involvement in issues of climate justice, decent work, and a just transition.
Welcoming the publication, ITUC-Africa Secretary General Ahator Joel Odigie stated that closer cooperation between journalists and trade unions would help make workers’ issues more visible to society and strengthen their influence on political discussions. «Trade unions do significant work, but too often their stories remain without adequate coverage. FAJ has prepared an important guide that will help journalists better understand the topic of a just transition and workers’ issues, ensuring that these topics become part of the public dialogue and are taken into account when developing policy decisions», Odigie said.
«Workers, including journalists, want to understand what this transition means for their future. This guide will help journalists explain these changes, and trade unions will be able to interact more effectively with their members. It is necessary to provide workers with opportunities for retraining and professional development and to ensure that no one is left behind», said Rose Omamo, Deputy President of ITUC‑Africa.
Speaking on behalf of the journalists’ unions that are members of FAJ, GPU President Isatou Keita stated that the publication will be an important resource for the professional development of journalists’ unions across the continent. «This guide provides our national journalists’ unions with a practical tool that they can immediately use to support working journalists. Our unions will use this publication in training and mentoring so that journalists are better prepared to cover the fair transition in formats that are meaningful to their audience and appropriate to the conditions in their countries».
The guide is part of a broader FAJ programme aimed at strengthening public interest journalism on issues related to climate change, just transition and information integrity in Africa. In close cooperation with ITUC-Africa, global trade union federations in Africa, affiliated journalists’ unions, news media platforms and development partners, FAJ seeks to expand journalists’ capacity to accurately cover the economic, social and environmental aspects of climate change, while ensuring that African voices and perspectives remain at the centre of national, continental and global political discussions.
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