From 10th to 14th of July 2023 the master Non Linear Narrative at The Royal Academy of Art in the Hague (KABK) in collaboration with the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) organised the summer school ‘Rewriting Climate Headlines’ to look at emerging narratives of climate change impact. 

For an entire week, alums of the NLN programme together with investigative journalists from the MENA region developed visual concepts for new approaches to storytelling about environmental justice.

Additionally, students and journalists were able to engage with distinguished guest speakers from the fields of journalism, environmentalism and art. ‘Rewriting Climate Headlines’ is funded by ARIJ.

It was the first workshop of its kind, investigating how media and politics frame the reporting on topics like forest fires, water deprivation and animal cruelty to shape national agendas and public opinion.

The outcomes of the collaboration will be presented from 1st to 3rd of December 2023 in the form of an exhibition during the ARIJ 16th Annual Forum in Amman (Jordan). The conference is the Arab world’s biggest gathering for investigative journalists, fact checkers and supporters of independent media, and will be held under the theme “Cross Border Collaboration in a Fragmented World”. ARIJ 16th Annual Forum will take place parallel to COP28 in Dubai and is expected to welcome 500+ on-site visitors and 2000+ online attendees. The forum will provide full translation to Arabic and English, and sign language interpretation. 

In 2024, the projects will be presented in the Netherlands.

“Cross border collaboration between European designers and Arab investigative

journalists engaging in deep discussions to transfer digital / visual investigations into art installations is cutting edge. We are very excited to see this extraordinary first of its kind experiment happening”, says Rawan Damen, Director General of ARIJ.

Participating alums: Nelleke Broeze, Sophie Czich, Jan Johan Draaistra, Cristina Lavosi, Daan Veerman and Hattie Wade

Investigative Journalists: Munir Al Khatib, Ethar Al Azem and Ahmad Ashour

Mentoring: Lauren Alexander, Rawan Damen, Rosie Heinrich, Niels Schrader, Boris van Westering