At this year’s International Journalism Festival in Perugia, one of the most important conversations about journalism and the climate crisis won’t be on the official programme.

It will happen, instead, over an aperitivo.

On Wednesday, 15 April at 6pm, the Media Innovation Studio at the University of Lancashire—together with partners including the Thomson Foundation, the University of Helsinki, and a growing network of newsroom leaders and researchers—will host an informal gathering we’re calling the Unofficial Green Room.

The premise is simple: we don’t have a knowledge gap on the climate crisis. We have a priority gap.

For all the insight, reporting, and discussion, climate journalism still struggles to secure the sustained attention, resources, and leadership it demands. This session is not about raising awareness. It’s about what we do next.

No panels. No slides. No speeches.

Instead, a candid, off-the-record exchange with people working in and alongside newsrooms:

• What’s blocking us from reporting the climate crisis as it deserves?
• Who’s getting it right—and what can we learn from them?
• What’s one thing we could start doing tomorrow?

“If climate is the defining story of our time, it can’t sit at the margins of the newsroom,” says Dr François Nel, Director of the Media Innovation Studio. “It has to shape what we commission, how we measure success, and how we lead.”

If you’re already doing work that points the way forward—or want to help scale it—we’d love you in the room.

👉 Join us in Perugia: Climate crisis. Not on the programme. Not in the news. Let’s talk – – International Journalism Festival 

This conversation is part of the wider work of the Sustainable Innovation and Leadership Accelerator (SILA)—a growing international collaboration focused on helping media leaders turn intent into action across people, planet, profits, and principles.

If you can’t make it to Perugia, you can still connect with the work and the network.

Learn more about SILA: https://mediainnovationstudio.org/sustainable-innovation-and-leadership-accelerator/