Climate change is considered to be 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.

The scientific community is providing increasingly detailed and shared knowledge on the causes of climate change, the options to limit its impacts, and the solutions to build climate-resilient communities. Decision makers, both from the public and the private spheres, are strongly engaged as climate change is a cross-cutting challenge that can no longer be ignored. Civil society is putting pressure on leaders to transform knowledge into action. The media are discussing which languages and solutions are best suited to describe the complexity of climate change, which has finally broken into the foreground of the news cycle.

In this context, the CMCC Climate Change Communication Award “Rebecca Ballestra” focuses on innovative projects and initiatives that deliver engaging messages and communicate climate change in education, advocacy, media production and social engagement activities.

Following the success of the first edition of the initiative concluded in 2021, the CMCC Foundation – EuroMediterranean Center on Climate Change renews the invitation to submit innovative, ongoing projects from across the world in the field of the communication of climate change. Submissions are welcome from 12 November 2022 through 15 June 2023.

The Second Edition of the CMCC Award was announced on November 11, 2022 at COP27, during the event “Deep into the Future Planet: Journalism, Media and Narratives of the Climate Crisis” | Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Italian Pavilion, Blue Zone.

The Award aims to showcase and promote the most creative and impactful initiatives that:

• increase public awareness on climate change and its interactions with society, the economy, the environment, and policy-making processes;
• disseminate science-based information and data related to climate change through the application of innovative ideas, technologies and methodologies in the field of media, journalism, and communication at large;
• communicate the threats and opportunities posed by the climate change challenge using multiple languages and innovative mediums, including journalism, art, videos and music;
• trigger action in the audiences addressed, including students, consumers, businesses and politicians.

The 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 Foundation in various cultural initiatives.