Journalists and content creators discussed how accurate, high-quality reporting can drive public dialogue on environmental security during an OSCE-organized training course that took place on 15 and 16 September 2026 in Ashgabat.
Delivered by two international and one national trainer, the two-day course explored the current landscape of environmental journalism, and presented topical issues on the environmental agenda, including climate change, biodiversity, environmental pollution, and waste management.
In his opening speech, William Leaf, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, noted that the topic of the training course is of particular importance to the OSCE, as it lies at the intersection of two key areas of its work - environmental security and media development - and underscored the importance of Reporting the Environment, a practical manual for journalists produced by UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
"It is impossible to respond effectively to environmental challenges without an informed public," said Leaf. "High-quality environmental journalism not only helps to raise public awareness, but also strengthens public dialogue on issues of sustainable development and environmental security."
The course also addressed the use of AI in collecting environmental information and working with a large number of information sources, as well as how to use AI services in journalism. Practical sessions exposed participants to fact-checking instruments and demonstrated to them how to apply AI services to develop a topic, decide on a format, and tell a story.
Participants also worked in groups to generate ideas for news stories on environmental topics and develop the plans for articles or scenarios for videos.
