Klimalabor
22.12.2023
Swiss Press Award 24 Online – E – Team Republik
Constructive Crisis Journalism
Republik
2024
Theresa Leisgang / Elia Blülle / David Bauer
2nd place 2024
The start of the year brought the launch of Projekt Klimalabor (project climate lab) by the online magazine Republik. The editorial team aims to “collaborate with the community to work out what type of journalism is needed for the climate crisis”. Following a live and several online events, and a special print issue, an interim assessment was made in the summer. One of the insights was that “there is a big demand for optimism.” At the same time, it is difficult not to become resigned in the face of the crisis. As a result, the Republik launched the format “Challenge Accepted” towards the end of 2023, which aims to focus attention on people who are approaching the challenges constructively. For example, the Danish sociologist Nikolaj Schultz, who is said to have sparked a great spirit of optimism with a highly acclaimed essay. However, some contributions are also critical, of the green movement for example, which needs to listen more, or of the failure to technically solve the problem of removing CO² from the atmosphere. In addition to journalism, public events continue to be part of the choice offered by Projekt Klimalabor.