KAMPALA, Uganda — Faced with a worsening climate crisis that is reshaping its landscape and economy, Uganda is launching a new offensive to change how the world understands its environmental struggle.
Makerere University, in a high-stakes partnership with the Uganda Editors Guild, has unveiled an intensive digital training program designed to transform local journalists into frontline climate experts. The move comes as the East African nation grapples with a volatile cocktail of unpredictable agricultural seasons, climate-driven migration and increasingly frequent natural disasters.
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For the gatekeepers of Uganda’s media, the stakes go beyond just better reporting; it is about the survival of the industry itself.
Only good journalism will be the rallying savior of the media business in navigating the challenges of the digital information society, said Alex Atuhaire, treasurer of the Uganda Editors Guild.
Speaking at the program’s launch Thursday at Makerere University, Atuhaire emphasized that the guild was a primary architect of the curriculum. He issued a direct challenge to the nation’s newsrooms, promising that senior editors will now provide the mentorship necessary to move climate stories from the fringes to the front page.
Our editors will not only offer mentorship but will ensure that the work you do is of the quality to get published on the major platforms in the country, Atuhaire said.
The program, hosted by the university’s Centre for Climate Change Research and Innovation, breaks down complex environmental science into eight digital modules. The goal is to strip away the technical jargon that often leaves climate stories feeling inaccessible to the general public.
Journalists are the bridge between science and society, said Revocatus Twinomuhangi, dean of the School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences. If you cannot explain something simply, you do not understand it well enough.
The initiative is backed by the British High Commission, part of a strategic push to ensure that the story of Africa’s climate struggle is told by African voices rather than foreign observers. British High Commissioner Lisa Chesney noted that strengthening local capacity is vital for authentic storytelling.
However, the path to the front page remains steep. Industry leaders at the launch noted that many reporters still gravitate toward fast-moving political drama, viewing climate science as a technical hurdle rather than a human-interest story.
Many journalists run for what is easy, said Leonard Namukasa of InfoNile. They leave climate change to foreigners because they don’t understand the science.
As the program rolls out, university officials say they plan to expand the training to local leaders and religious figures, signaling a broader effort to build climate literacy across all levels of Ugandan society.
