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Training

Macaranga Mentorship on Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People

Macaranga Workshop on Constructive Journalism, Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People 2026 (Lee Kwai Han/Macaranga)

Project journalists start to investigate climate disinformation

28 April 2026: Journalists from 4 different newsrooms have embarked on investigating issues related to climate disinformation and indigenous people in Malaysia.

Following Macaranga‘s March workshop on these issues, 3 selected participants have begun working on their respective stories in Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Langat and Semporna.

They will be mentored by Macaranga.

At the same time, 4 journalists have started looking at climate disinformation in blue carbon which will be published in an upcoming series in Macaranga.

Eighteen enthusiastic participants soak in constructive journalism on climate and communities

27 April 2026:  Macaranga‘s workshop on constructive journalism, climate disinformation and indignous people drew a mix of journalists and communicators/activists.

Their expertise ranged from text to broadcast, freelancing to newsroom, community organising to indigenous rights. About half were indigenous.

What they worked on:

  • Identify “red flags” in the narratives and framing of climate issues, specifically impacting Orang Asal communities.
  • Understand how to apply FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent) standards to protect community integrity and build trust in their reporting.
  • Apply the three pillars of Constructive Journalism to move past “feel-good” stories and highlight credible, scalable responses that honour Indigenous agency.
  • Develop pitches for one of 3 story grants and a 3-month long mentorship by Macaranga.

Best of all, everyone shared ideas and experiences and came up with great ideas together!

With thanks to Rimba Ilmu, Universiti Malaya.

This workshop is part of the Macaranga Mentorship on Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People.

Call for Applications ~ For Journalists: Reporting on the Environment

Workshop climate disinformation announcement

[UPDATE : 13.2.26 APPLICATIONS CLOSED] Tired of fighting fake climate news? Or writing bad news? Let’s do something about it. Macaranga invites journalists to join a 3-day workshop on Constructive Journalism,  Climate Disinformation and Indigenous People from 3-5 March 2026. Apply here by 13 February 2026.

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Training

Macaranga Environmental Reporting Mentorship

Nine issues tackled in journalism supported by Macaranga's Environmental Reporting Mentorship

21 August 2025: From ikan bilis fisheries to light pollution and waste management, the Macaranga Environmental Reporting Mentorship 2025 saw the production of features by 5 journalists and 5 news pieces by university students.

This project was supported by a grant from the Youth Environment Living Labs (YELL) administered by Justice for Wildlife Malaysia.

Our objective was to promote environmental messaging that is based on facts, guided by science, driven by data, is balanced and aligned to global environmental aspirations. It also promotes the role of the media and youth as key civil society actors and drivers of change.

Journalists learned reporting skills and gained knowledge about environmental issues in Malaysia (SL Wong)
  1. Capacity building of journalists

We held a workshop for 12 reporters from different newsrooms to build their skills and up their knowledge on environmental issues. We then gave out 4 grants for 4 journalists to produce stories, and mentored them for 4 months.

Check out their indepth investigations:

Screenshot: Covers of stories produced unders the Macaranga Environmental Reporting Mentorship 2025
Screenshot: Covers of stories produced unders the Macaranga Environmental Reporting Mentorship 2025

2. Capacity building of university students

In collaboration with Universiti Malaya and Taylors University, we put students through a workshop and mentorship to produce news stories and related social media content. The students came from  journalism and science disciplines.

Five groups received grants and were mentored to work on their chosen topics on respectively food and electronic waste, overconsumption, and biodiversity loss. Check out their stories on the YELL website (July 2025).

Group tackling waste checking in with mentors.
Group tackling waste checking in with mentors.
Nadzirah Rosley at 1Utama Recycling Center. (Credit: Zhang Tong & Puteri Nor Alisha)
Nadzirah Rosley at 1Utama Recycling Center. (Credit: Zhang Tong & Puteri Nor Alisha)
A resting Oriental Blue Dasher (Brachydiplax chalybea). (Credit: KW Chew)
The group on biodiversity feature an Oriental Blue Dasher in their piece. (Credit: KW Chew)

A forum was also held and a student in the audience, Dharyaasri Karthigesan, was applauded when she said that young people liked to have fun but also cared about the environment. However, youths needed adults to create spaces for them; at the same time, adults needed to take young people seriously.

With thanks to all the newsrooms and journalists as well as university students who participated! Much gratitude to our subject matter experts, as well as fellow trainers, mentors, and collaborators including Aidila Razak, Kuek Ser Kuang Keng, Dexter Chan, Lau Chak Onn, Muhamad Iqbal Fatkhi, Ian Yee, and Hilal Azmi.

At the forum, industry-university collaborations would encourage more students to be interested in environmental journalism (Dai Yixuan/Universiti Malaya)
At a forum featuring academics and working journalists, a conclusion was that industry-university collaborations would encourage more students to be interested in environmental journalism (Dai Yixuan/Universiti Malaya)

Call for Applications ~ For Journalists: Reporting on the Environment

UPDATE: CLOSED – APPLICANTS HAVE BEEN SELECTED. CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR DETAILS OF THE WORKSHOP.

Are you itching to report on the Malaysian environment? Do you need help shaping your story idea and bringing it to fruition? Are you eager to apply data and mapping in your stories?

If you are nodding, then we have designed the perfect workshop for you!

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