With COP26, set to take place in Glasgow in November 2021, there is a key opportunity to spread awareness and build a social movement around the need to integrate just and sustainable food policies within national climate action plans.
Meet our fellows who will be sharing the stories linked to agriculture, food security, and climate change in their country.
GET TO KNOW OUR FELLOWS
Itzel Elizabeth Gómez Gurrola, Mexico 
Itzel has worked in three main areas of media: research, teaching, and journalistic practice. She studied Sciences of Communication at National University of Mexico (UNAM) and she’s done research in science content in public news media in British, U.S., Spanish, and Mexican television.
Itzel is a co-creator of the Science Journalism Laboratory (LabPdC in Spanish) at UNAM and member of the Mexican Science Journalists Network. Interestingly, Itzel is also African and hula dancer, she loves coffee and chocolate.
“As a science journalist I have a social function: I work for citizens. An informed society makes better decisions and demands a better quality of life. My key role that I play in the climate movement is in both scenarios. Firstly, to create stories understanding the science behind climate change, hence citizens can understand this complex phenomenon. Secondly, to demand policy makers ask about their decisions if they are based on science. We have enough evidence about climate change however the actions have not been enough. By impacting these two scenarios, it will be possible to jointly achieve immediate actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change and deal with it with due urgency.”
Check out Itzel’s previous work
Hezron Mwawaza Kimari, Kenya
Hezron is a professional journalist interested in reporting on climate change and how the changes affect interaction between people and environment. He’s worked in various media houses in an array of capacities, from script writing and video production.
“I want to educate the public on the importance of growing and taking care of trees to enable enough rainfall for farming. Farmers need to be encouraged to grow traditional crops because they are resilient to climate change. Creating awareness to farmers to consider using organic fertilizer and seeds for better harvest.“
Hartatik, Indonesia 
Hartatik is a journalist working at Suara Merdeka, the largest newspaper in Central Java, based in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. She has an interest in covering environmental issues including, but not limited to, climate change, LGBT, biodiversity, energy, agriculture and forestry. One of her notable reports was “Gibbon coffee supports rare forest primates and local livelihoods in Java, Indonesia” and “A dug solution to drought in an Indonesian village”.
“The environmental journalism landscape in Indonesia adopts solution journalism. Journalists do not only report problems that occur, but focus on communicating the efforts of the community and government to jointly answer these problems. This approach is expected to increase public interest in the current problems. “
Gabriela Ruiz, Ecuador
With a master in Public Policies, with a Specialty in Migration, Development and Human Rights, Gabriela currently works as an independent journalist for several media outlets in the region. In 2017, she obtained the First place in the Eugenio Espejo National Journalism Award in Ecuador. After living in Mexicali for seven hot summers, she says she isn’t afraid of hell. Her main concern is living and writing intensely.
Gabriela seeks to develop narrative strategies that help to understand, surprise and encourage readers on environmental and human rights issues, and hopefully, to transform our behavior in favor of caring for people and defending the earth.
“The climate journalism landscape in Ecuador is growing. There are few journalists doing journalistic research with a human rights approach. These are the reasons: The costs, the investment time, the lack of means that can pay the cost of an investigation and support the journalist. Environmental journalism is risky because it faces large capital, political interests, and business interests. Therefore, there are few spaces to work with good pay.“
Ifedayo Ogunyemi, Nigeria
Ifedayo is a 2020 fact-checking fellow with Dubawa, Nigeria’s first indigenous fact-checking and verification platform, and a 2020 Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) mentorship graduate. Currently, he is a Senior Reporter with the Nigerian Tribune, where he fact-checks, sub-edits, handles data visualisation and has carried out reporting projects for local and international media organisations about climate change, education, social injustice, health and media issues.
“Nigeria’s climate landscape has been plagued by deforestation, flooding, irregular rainfall, gas flaring and a host of other natural and man-made activities that were underreported in years past. However, a new form of climate journalism has birthed in Nigeria such that lots of these issues now take the front burner in the day-to-day reportorial activities of the Nigerian media. The consciousness of environment and climate-focused journalists have grown such that many underreported issues including the voices/experiences/encounters of victims now characterise news reports in this present day.“
Check out Ifedayo’s previous work
Mhindi Joseph, Tanzania
Mhindi is a journalist and radio presenter based in Dodoma, Tanzania. She wants to be an agent for change, by encouraging the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial energy.
“Journalists can warn of extreme climatic events, explain complex policies, highlight coping strategies that work on the ground, act as watchdogs that protect the public interest, and promote the necessary actions from consumers, businesses and governments to build green economies .“
Looking forward to the stories each of these great writers will create!