A Lakehead University graduate student is getting praise and some money for making the cut in a special competition among university students.
Robert Sanderson is a finalist for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Storyteller competition.
Sanderson is a Master of Health Sciences student, he made the finals for his three-minute video describing strategies that organizations and governments can use to have more success in communicating climate change to people from all walks of life.
“Keeping the messaging simple and concise and making it local. So for instance in Thunder Bay, talking about flooding, forest fires, issues that have impacted people personally,” Sanderson said.
Sanderson’s video highlighted a two-year SSHRC-funded project which included a total of 4,000 surveys mailed to residents in Thunder Bay, and Prince George, BC and several in-person interviews to gather more information.
Sanderson decided to enter the SSHRC Storyteller competition as way of sharing information about the research project.
“When it comes down to it, climate change needs to be personal. We need to tailor our messages and communications in a way that targets the values of the people we’re talking to,” Sanderson said in the video.
Sanderson received $3,000 for placing in the top 25. The SSHRC Storyteller competion challenges postsecondary students to show Canadians, in up to three minutes or 300 words, how social sciences and humanities research is affecting their lives, the world and our future for the better.
