Six journalists of Manipur were awarded the first ever State Level Media Fellowship programme on Climate Change Reporting for the year 2018-19 during a consultative media workshop in Imphal, sources said in Imphal on Monday.
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The journalists who received the media fellowship awards are Laishram Shamungou Singh (The Sangai Express), Pouguilung Kamei (All India Radio), Mungchan Zimik (The Sangai Express), Kshetri Meghajit (Naharolgi Thoudang), Babie Shirin (Imphal Free Press) and Ksh Premchand (Impact TV).
They will receive a sum of Rs 50,000 in instalment to support their travel and research. The first installment of the fellowship amount was also handed over to the journalists during a day-long media consultative workshop held at the newly inaugurated conference hall of Directorate of Environment at Porompat in Imphal on Saturday.
Also read: Northeast Now scribe awarded Assam Media Fellowship, 2018-19
Director Dr Y Nabachandra of Directorate of Environment, editor Pradip Phanjoubam of Imphal Free Press, the leading English daily, senior journalists Salam Rajesh and Sobhapati Samom along with scientists of the department also attended the consultative meet wherein the experts and fellows shared their point of views on the climate change issues and media’s role in educating the general public for mitigation and adaptation initiatives in the region.
With the distribution of the first State Level Media Fellowship programme on climate change reporting, Manipur become the first State to launch such kind of initiative among all the Himalayan mountain systems in the country, according deputy director Dr T Brajakumar who is one of the energetic officers of the directorate of environment in initiating the media fellowship programmes for the media persons in Manipur.
The studies to be conducted by the journalists are likely to be incorporated in the second version of the State Action Plan on Climate Change.
It may be recalled that the Directorate of Environment had announced the media fellowship programme in presence of forest and environment minister Th Shyamkumar on March 7 last.
