Avoiding disasters

🌐 Non-events + opportunities for media & changemakers

📌 In this post:

• From the editor’s desk—on flipping the disaster narrative

• Opportunities for media & changemakers—from the Pulitzer Center, Internews, Magnum, the UN, the Carter Center and more

• PS. Journalism as resistance

Photo by Keith Misner on Unsplash

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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

WorldWise readers—

It might be a hurricane or an earthquake, a war, a major accident—when a disaster hits, the media is all over it. That’s often cause for criticism when the coverage comes with sensationalism or stories that go over the same ground on repeat.

Still, we tune in. Drama and tragedy have always touched the human psyche. Add to that a craving for information and sensemaking, and it’s no wonder we can’t get enough of what reporters and analysts serve up through our insatiable screens.

There’s one fundamental ingredient to the attention-grabbing. It needs an event that punctures the world as we know it. It needs disruption.

So how do you get people interested in stories about a disaster that never happened?

The Disasters Avoided initiative, which was set up to build knowledge and share case-studies about preventing disasters, explored facets of this question in conversations with practitioners shared in the latest edition of a newsletter published in November. In doing this, the team behind the initiative—consultant Gareth Byatt, professor Ilan Kelman and researcher Ana Prados—started from the premise that journalists and the media have a valuable role to play.

One of the main concerns of the group is how to promote examples of success through cases where a disaster has been prevented, and media advisor Lisa Robinson came through on that with a wealth of tips and resources aligned with solutions-based journalism.

Another point the group is keen to get across to the media and the public is that disasters aren’t just about the hazard, like climate change: they are more about human decisions which pave the way to—or help avert—a disaster. Here Onengiyeofori Fyneface, from the African Union of Broadcasting, discussed how African reporters are being trained to understand the difference.

I was asked about this too, and touched on three points in my response. One was about the bigger picture of why getting that point across might be challenging:

I think there is a reason historically as to why this is the case. It has taken so long for the climate change narrative to be accepted, and I think societally, we are still riding that wave, and I think what you are saying is the next step in the evolution into a more holistic conversation.

Another point is about the kind of messaging that often makes its way into the media:

I think what tends to get picked up on a regular basis [is] consensus messaging, what most scientists agree on. In that context, if you want to put forward an alternative or a minority position or interpretation, it helps to have a strong piece of evidence that gives that position credence, like a study or a quote from a prominent figure, to help break into the mainstream. Messaging that will make the editor’s head turn and take it seriously, otherwise it risks being seen as a fringe position and the chances of it getting picked up are much lower.

The third part of that question has to do with politics and inconvenient truths:

There is also another obstacle in the alternative message that you are trying to put forward—it places the responsibility on people and institutions, which they may see as inconvenient.

Thinking about this conversation since then, I keep going back to a more basic question: how do you get anyone, not just the media, interested in something that hasn’t happened? It’s a biological fact that our attention gets triggered by events, shocks, difference. Maybe a big part of this quest to communicate how we, as a society, can avoid disasters is about turning non-events into something compelling—how to flip the narrative so the story happens outside and beyond the disruption.

Anita

📌 Learn more about Disasters Avoided and sign up to the newsletter.

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OPPORTUNITIES | working in media & global change

grants+funding

MEDIA

⏳ GLOBAL | Northwestern University’s Medill has opened submissions for the spring 2026 cohort of the Data-Driven Reporting Project, which aims to support investigative projects that serve local and/or underrepresented communities in the U.S. and Canada, and seeks to make awards of up to $35,000—apply by March 31.

🎥 ASIA | Internews’ Earth Journalism Network is offering support to communicators reporting from coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal to produce in-depth text and video reports on various aspects of climate change impacts that are not usually accounted for by policymakers—closing April 15.

🎥 ASIA | The Earth Journalism Network seeks to provide financial support and editorial mentorship to communicators and social media content creators reporting on India’s renewable energy transition—apply by April 15.

🎥 GLOBAL | The Magnum Foundation is accepting applications from women or nonbinary photographers under the age of 30 for a grant in honour of Austrian-born photographer Inge Morath—submissions due April 30.

CHANGEMAKERS

⏳ ASIA | NGOs and public organisations based in Bangladesh can apply for The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGHSP) programme, offered by the Embassy of Japan, which provides funding to implement small-scale, community-focused initiatives addressing essential social and economic needs—closing 31 March.

⏳ LAC | The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) is inviting applications for proposals to support innovative Blue Economy projects that strengthen marine and coastal livelihoods, enhance biodiversity and climate resilience, and implement sustainable financing mechanisms in the Caribbean—closing 31 March.

⏳ GLOBAL | The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) is inviting applications from organisations or enterprises based or operating in its 101 member countries for projects that empower smallholders, enhance local livelihoods, and promote sustainable, inclusive economic development through high-impact interventions—closing 1 April.

⏳ AFRICA | Savings and credit groups in Kenya can apply to the IUCN’s Community Resilience Facility (CRF), to access seed capital to support local restoration projects and strengthen economic resilience—closing 4 April.

AFRICA | The European Commission is inviting grant applications for projects aiming to strengthen weather and climate modelling in Africa to support more effective adaptation, disaster risk management, and capacity building—closing 15 April.

AFRICA | The European Commission invites civil society organisations working to strengthen democratic governance, citizen participation, and sustainable development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to apply for grants to support projects focusing on marginalised groups and rural areas—closing 20 April.

fellowships+scholarships

MEDIA

⏳ GLOBAL | A fellowship for five journalists from low- and middle-income countries to cover the 8th Global Environment Facility Assembly is being offered by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. Those selected will get a front-row seat to the event, which will be attended by more than 1,000 delegates in Samarkand in Uzbekistan between May 31 and June 6 —apply by 31 March.

⏳ GLOBAL | Applications for a program to cover the United Nations, the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship, are open. Working journalists between 22 and 35 years of age who are nationals of selected developing countries and countries in transition are invited to apply for the four-week program—deadline 3 April.

⏳ GLOBAL | The Carter Center is offering domestic and international fellowships to support journalists with at least three years of experience in their coverage of issues related to mental health and climate change—submit your application by April 3.

⏳ GLOBAL | Internews’ Earth Journalism Network has opened applications for its in-person fellowship program that intends to support selected journalists to attend the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, between June 16 and 18, and produce at least two in-depth stories or analyses—open until April 7.

GLOBAL | The UNCCD COP17 Land and Drought Media Reporting Fellowship seeks to support six journalists covering the growing pressure on the world’s land and what it means for food and water security, economic stability and global resilience. The conference takes place in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar from August 17 to 28—deadline 15 April.

CHANGEMAKERS

ASIA | India-based innovators and inventors are invited to apply for the Social Alpha Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiR) Fellowship Programme, a year-long immersive programme that equips passionate ‘entrepreneurs-in-the-making’ with end-to-end capacity building and resources to leverage India’s deep science, innovation, and entrepreneurship environment—rolling deadline.

training+events

GLOBAL | The Aspire Leaders Program is inviting applications for a free, interactive online leadership journey for limited-income and first-generation university students and recent graduates interested in personal and professional development on leadership, AI, digital transformation, and community impact—closing 13 April.

awards+competitions

MEDIA

⏳ GLOBAL | The Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award is supported by the IWMF and celebrates the work of courageous women photojournalists. One $20,000 cash prize available—send your submission by March 31.

⏳ GLOBAL | The Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards is open for entries seeks to honour work published or broadcast in 2025 that represents the leading edge of climate reporting—entries accepted through March 31.

GLOBAL | Nominations are open for the 2026 Champions of the Earth Award, the UN’s highest environmental honour for leaders and organisations implementing impactful solutions to protect and restore the world’s oceans—closing 15 April.

CHANGEMAKERS

GLOBAL | The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing is open for applications for its Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award, which aims to recognize the accomplishments of a mid-career journalist and enable them to undertake a significant reporting project—annual deadline April 30.

GLOBAL | The 2026 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award, launched by UArctic and the Arctic Circle, invites applications from individuals, teams, and organisations with actionable, research-based ideas that address climate change in the Arctic—closing 30 April.

GLOBAL | Nominations are open for The World Food Prize, which honours an individual who has made exceptional achievement in advancing global food security through measurable, large-scale impact across the entire food and agriculture system—closing 1 May.

pitches+positions

GLOBAL | The Pulitzer Center is recruiting a director of strategic communications to amplify the work of its journalists and drive engagement across audiences—apply now.

GLOBAL | The Pulitzer Center is also looking for a social media coordinator to focus on strategic storytelling across seven platforms—apply now.

GLOBAL | Climate Finance Solutions, a global consultancy that helps companies and organisations secure funding to develop and scale their high-impact climate solutions, is looking for a grant writer—apply now.

GLOBAL | The Fuller Project seeks stories on issues that shape the lives of women and gender-diverse communities, which they organize into monthly thematic editions—submit your pitch.

GLOBAL | Climate Home News is looking for pitches on the trends shaping the extraction, processing and governance of key raw materials for the energy transition—pitch now.

📌 More opportunities are available to paid subscribers—currently a total of 45 opportunities for media and changemakers. A gift subscription is available.

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ICYMI | in other editions

Living outside the lie

Related:

👤 Can Middle Powers Gel? - Sarang Shidore for Foreign Policy

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PS.

If you think about it, it is a sign of the times that people as different as the Prime Minister of Canada and a journalist from El Salvador both thought that a book written half a century ago has something to say about the days we are living in. Particularly because Havel warns that his essay – and therefore any lessons derived from it – is only pertinent to what he calls a post-totalitarian state, namely the Soviet Union and the countries inside its sphere, among them Havel’s Czechoslovakia.

We are not there, of course. But this change of paradigms has just started, and we don’t know where it is heading.

—Salvadoran journalist Carlos Dada, in the 2026 Reuters Memorial Lecture

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Thank you.

WorldWise is read across 82 countries—it remains independent thanks to the support of subscribers like you, and to the rest of my nomadic work-life. Sign up | Browse archive | Sponsor an issue

Created and edited by Anita Makri—journalist/writer, producer and editorial adviser covering global development and science in society. I also help selected organisations with compatible values to strengthen their media work. LinkedIn | Instagram | Email

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