The Reframing Rio project aimed to increase global public engagement and trigger new global debates around sustainable development in the lead-up to, and beyond, the Rio +20 meeting in June 2012. The project reached European, national and global, audiences through a wide-ranging package of broadcast television, print and online publications, social networking and educational resources in a range of language and for a range of age groups and audiences. The media outputs were produced in partnership with European and developing world producers, broadcasters, journalists, young film-makers and photojournalists.

TV for the Environment  (Tve) designed this ambitious multi-media project, along with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Interpress Service News Agency (IPS) spanning 30 months and it includes the following activities:

• A dedicated multi-media ‘Reframing Rio’ website, with links to all the print and programme outputs, web streaming and hyperlinks to other organizations working on sustainable development issues
• Various documentaries about the aims and evolution of the Rio conference, broadcast in a number of regional languages, including the ‘Zero Ten Twenty’ series, which focuses on the lives of 11 babies, born in 10 different countries around the world, in 1992. By following their lives, the documentary series aims to track the impacts of Rio from the 1992 conference, up to Rio+20 in June 2012
• Short films and MTV clips for targeted audiences including the youth on issues of sustainable development
• A ‘Life Apps’ series highlighting how software programmers are now writing world class ‘apps’ (mobile phone applications) to make money and help poor and marginalized people and communities in Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya and India
• An awards ceremony in London including the One World Media Award for outstanding coverage of the MDGs
• A range of feature stories, pictures and news analysis on the issues raised at Rio in English, French and Spanish
• Analysis and reports of the Rio+20 conference produced for participants and a wider audience
• Information for schools and teachers about the conference and sustainable development

Project Update:

CDKN funded three key workstreams:

1)     Launch Conference of Broadcasters and Producers

Attended by 49 participants, including 36 broadcasters/producers/online news journalists - (including 6 from sub-Saharan African countries; 4 from South Asia/South East Asia; 5 from Latin America); representatives from the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the ComPlus Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development.  Presentations included:

• Yolanda Kakabadse, President of WWF International and former Minister of the Environment in Ecuador- “why the new Rio+20 Earth Summit mattered today”
• Camilla Toulmin, Director of the International Institute of Environment and Development – “the key issues that needed to be addressed in the run-up to the Earth Summit”
• Elwyn Grainger-Jones from IFAD- “the impact of climate change and growing populations on food security”
• Roger Morier, Head  of Communications at the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Division

The launch meeting provoked a spirited debate about how to re-engage audiences around the world in the sustainable development agenda, and revive the hope and optimism that accompanied the original Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 through powerful stories for both broadcast, online publication and social media. Secondly, a short-list of ideas were developed by participants for ‘Reframing Rio’ programmes to be taken forward.

2)     Life Apps

Tve developed 6 x 25 minute documentaries about sustainable development; two of which were related to climate change and their production was supported by CDKN. The first five explore the lives and efforts of software engineers in the developing world, working to produce solutions for sustainable development in their respective countries. The ‘Life Apps’ series became an extension of this programme and highlights how software programmers are now writing world class ‘apps’ (mobile phone applications) to make money and help poor and marginalized people and communities in Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya and India. This series has been broadcast widely in a range of languages, with the support of CDKN.

3)     A dedicated multi-media ‘Reframing Rio’ website

With CDKN’s support, Tve created a dedicated Reframing Rio website, featuring video clips from all the films produced, links to supporting and participating organisations, news articles produced by IPS and news feeds from supporting organisations and policy briefings from IIED.

For more information about Reframing Rio, please visit the multimedia website.

Project Partners: Tve, IIED, IPS News.

CDKN Funding: £144,007