The fellowship experience has been an eye-opening one for me. The training sessions not only taught me technical skills like data, content and framing analysis, but also allowed me to learn more about media and plastic usage and policies from my other fellows in Southeast Asia. It is rare that a project allows for the opportunity to be able to cross paths — let alone have critical discussions with — others in Southeast Asia, researching trends that are changing the region. Despite working with people based in different countries, I received much support from the Climate Tracker team as well.
Part of the single-use plastics problem is not only in the systemic approach and regulatory bans but also in the way the public is informed via the media about these issues. The fellowship being centered on media on single-use plastics was an under-explored area, with many of the journalists that I interviewed for the research expressing that they were now eager to do more coverage on the matter. Thus it was exciting to research and understand better a unique angle to the issue of single-use plastics that is deeply embedded in our everyday life and habits, especially in a place like Malaysia.
Want to learn more about media coverage of plastics in Southeast Asia? Check out our full report and tune into our podcast ⬇️⬇️.This was made possible due to our partnership with Break Free from Plastic.