<p>Climate awareness is the starting point for understanding how climate change triggers and contributes to the climate crisis. A public that is aware is made up of citizens who are able to manage the best way to learn about the climate system and its changes and to understand how climate interacts with the individual and collective sphere of each person. Climate awareness provides everything citizens need to play an active role in addressing the negative impacts of climate change on people's lives, seize opportunities and be conscious actors in the present we are living and the future we shape for younger generations. Given the multidisciplinary, cross-cutting and all-comprehensive dimension of the interaction between climate and socio-economic systems (both on a local and global scale), improving Climate awareness requires more than just making reliable information and data available. There is an urgent need for strategic perspectives, critical thinking, and innovative outreach platforms and tools. </p> <p>To answer this challenge, the CMCC is implementing an outreach and communication strategy that addresses the complexity of the issue by implementing a multi-platform approach to climate literacy. The target audiences for this approach are as diverse as many social actors are involved in the process of improving their own climate literacy and, thus, contribute to the spread of more advanced climate awareness. These include public opinion as a whole, but specific initiatives and languages should be used to target specific audiences, such as students, journalists, policymakers, and civil society. Thus, the CMCC multi-platform approach addresses the climate crisis in the relationships between target audiences and media in their cultural, social, historical, economic and technological contexts. We present a series of concrete and ongoing initiatives that make up an integrated climate literacy strategy combining storytelling of climate impacts and adaptation solutions, the journalistic vision of a magazine, visual storytelling, podcast, art/science dialogue, science/communication collaboration about IPCC reports and the building of a community/network of climate communication initiatives through a climate communication international award.</p>

<p>Climate change is one of the most prominent challenges of our times. A pervasive topic that actively involves countless actors around the world, conditioning every sector of society. More and more initiatives worldwide are devoted to spreading awareness on climate change and engaging the public to bring the change we need. </p> <p>In this context, the <em>CMCC Climate Change Communication Award “Rebecca Ballestra”</em> showcases and promotes innovative projects and initiatives that deliver engaging messages and communicate climate change in education, advocacy, media production and social engagement activities through different forms of communication such as <strong>art, theatre, video making, music, photography, journalism, gaming, education, data visualization, and the use of digital channels and tools</strong>.</p> <p>Through this initiative, the CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change is building <strong>an innovative and continuously growing global platform </strong>(www.cmccaward.eu) that collects and rewards the best climate communication projects worldwide, and <strong>connects their authors in a network that fosters collaborations, offers opportunities and opens a space of discussion</strong> for climate change communication experts.</p> <p>Now at its second edition, the CMCC Award honours the memory of the artist Rebecca Ballestra, who was committed to shaping a sustainable future and promoting positive transformation processes in the fields of science, humanities, economy, ecology and art and collaborated with the CMCC in various cultural initiatives.</p> <p>The CMCC Award focuses on projects that:</p> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><strong>increase public awareness</strong> on climate change and its interactions with society, the economy, the environment, and policy-making processes;</li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>disseminate science-based information and data </strong>related to climate change through the application of innovative ideas, technologies and methodologies in the field of media, journalism, and communication at large;</li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>communicate the threats and opportunities</strong> posed by the climate change challenge using multiple languages and innovative mediums, including journalism, art, videos and music;</li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>trigger action</strong> in the audiences addressed, including students, consumers, businesses and politicians.</li> </ul> <p>The biennial initiative is developed through:</p> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><strong>a Call for Proposals</strong> to collect the best ongoing climate communication projects from all over the world. Over 100 projects were admitted from the 1st call for proposals. The 2nd call for proposals was launched in November 2022 at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and will close in June 2023;</li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>a series of online and in-person events </strong>in which international experts in the field of climate change communication debate with scientists on the best strategies, initiatives and solutions to build a stronger awareness on the climate crisis;</li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>the evaluation of the admitted projects by an international Jury of outstanding experts</strong>;</li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>the final event hosting the Award Ceremony</strong>, climax of the initiative, during which the winners and other selected projects have the opportunity to present their work; </li> </ul> <p><strong>a series of interviews, articles and podcasts</strong> on the CMCC magazine climateforesight.eu in collaboration with the authors of the best projects.</p>