At a celebratory event at the KLIMA ARENA in Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg, the K3 Prize for Climate Communication was awarded for the first time on 7 October. The prize is given in three categories and recognises outstanding communication formats on the topic of climate in the German-speaking world. From nearly 160 applications, a high-calibre expert jury ultimately selected six projects and initiatives:

In the category "local/regional climate journalism" (K3 Prize for Climate Communication), the winner was the Vienna-based magazine Falter, which with its newly established "Natur" (Nature) section reaches people beyond the climate bubble and opens up perspectives on the dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. "The 'Natur' section in Falter sets an example of what excellent climate and environmental reporting can achieve. It creates space for the most crucial topics of our time and gives planetary crises a permanent place in the news", says jury member and laudatory speaker Sara Schurmann, a journalist who advocates strongly for a reorientation of climate journalism. Second place went to the weekly sustainability magazine "Klimaheldinnen" from the Austrian television channel ProSiebenSat.1 Puls 4, which puts a human face on the effort to tackle the climate crisis.

In the category "communication formats from science and research" (Eunice Foote Prize for Climate Communication), the winner was the "Public Climate School" by Students for Future Germany. It demonstrates what digital, interactive and target-group-appropriate climate education with an activating practical focus can look like. Jury member and laudatory speaker Prof. Dr Mojib Latif, lead climate researcher at the Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, said: "The Public Climate School impressed with its practical relevance and its inter- and transdisciplinary approach. The targeted programme offerings, differentiated by subgroup for schools, students and the general public, also ensure a very broad reach." Second place went to the "Climate@Home" initiative by Scientists for Future Stuttgart, which lets you invite climate experts onto your living room sofa for a relaxed deep-dive into climate change. A commendable mention went to the project "Klimafitter Wald" (Climate-Fit Forest) by the Austrian Federal Research Centre for Forests, which, among other things, uses the YouTube series "Günther hat einen Wald geerbt" (Günther Inherited a Forest) to pave the way for climate-compatible forest transformation.

The first prize in the category "communication formats from everyday life and the workplace, municipalities, communities and neighbourhoods" (Citizens' Prize of the KLIMA ARENA) went to the grassroots project "Gemeinde N" run by church environmental activists in eastern Germany. It aims to motivate people to take action and draws on the purchasing power of the church as the second-largest consumer in Germany. "The winning project convinced the jury with its unusual but direct approach. It impressively demonstrates how simple climate communication can sometimes be, how important sustainable partnerships are, and how you can reach new target groups directly", says Anna Ramskogler-Witt, Director of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin. Second place in this category went to the project "Unser 2035" by Parents for Future, Dortmund, which aims to make the climate crisis a topic of everyday conversation between grandparents and grandchildren. Here too, a commendable mention went to an Austrian project: the Energiesparverband Oberösterreich (Upper Austrian Energy Saving Association) shows with its project "AdieuÖl" that it's possible to inspire an entire region to take transformative action. 

ABOUT THE K3 PRIZE

The K3 Prize is endowed with a total of 15,000 euros. The Eunice Foote Prize was donated by the German Climate Consortium (DKK) and klimafakten.de from Germany, the National Centre for Climate Services Switzerland (NCCS) and ProClim at the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT), as well as the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA) from Austria. The donor of the K3 Prize for Climate Journalism is klimaaktiv from Austria, and behind the Citizens' Prize of the KLIMA ARENA is the Klimastiftung für Bürger.

The jury for the K3 Prize includes renowned experts in climate research and climate communication. In addition to the already mentioned laudatory speakers Schurmann and Ramskogler-Witt and laudatory speaker Latif, the jury also includes science cabaret artist and communication researcher Helmuth Jungwirth.

The K3 Prize is intended to be awarded on a regular basis going forward and is closely aligned with the K3 Congress on Climate Communication. This is held every two years and largely organised by the same organisations.

Photos from the award ceremony and video statements from the winners will be available from today (Thu., 7 Oct.) afternoon here!

The application videos of all winners can be found here:

K3 Prize for Climate Journalism:

1st prize: FALTER.natur
2nd prize: Klimaheldinnen

Eunice Foote Prize for Climate Communication:

1st prize: Public Climate School
2nd prize: Climate@home

Citizens' Prize of the KLIMA ARENA:

1st prize: Gemeinde N
2nd prize: Unser 2035