Mulling over the climate debate: media education on climate change

Abstract

Media education is an important tool to increase public understanding about wide ranging and complex issues such as sustainable development or climate change. This article discusses experiences gained from the production of media education material called "Mulling over the climate debate". The project was carried out in Finland as part of the Finnish contribution to the EU-wide climate change communication campaign. The main aim of the project was to produce educational material for upper secondary schools. The project developed a framework consisting of ten clusters of questions that encourage the student towards critical evaluation of the contents of the news. It is concluded that a participatory approach is a key success factor for small-scale educational projects operating with limited financial resources. On a more general level, media education is highlighted as a key factor that can trigger efficient responses to current environmental problems.