Words by Smiley Team
Graduating in the middle of a pandemic, two eco-minded journalism students from Newcastle University channeled their spare time and creativity to set up an online platform for environmental solutions, Eco-Spotlight.com. Also partly available in braille through their collaboration with White Print Magazine, their articles promote the changemakers guiding us towards a greener and more climate-friendly future.
Ayushi Shah, 24, from India and Julia Brunner, 25, from Germany, had attended the Newcastle Upon Tyne climate strike together and, returning to their home countries feeling inspired, they rushed to put their new multimedia skills into practice.
At first, the pair set up a podcast called 2 Minutes 2 Midnight, but sensing people might prefer uplifting news, they switched to a more solutions-focused outlet.
“We wanted to talk about solutions and how there is hope,” Ayushi explained. “After experimenting, we finally decided that Eco-Spotlight was going to be a digital publication that celebrates sustainable solutions from around the world. We want to find creative solutions for a human-made problem and talk to people who show us how we can tackle the climate catastrophe.”
Faced with conflicting time zones and daily technical problems trying to communicate via video calls across continents, the pair created everything from scratch and off their own backs financially.
Reflecting on the early stages of creating the platform, Ayushi said: “We had to figure out everything; from hosting and designing our own website to coming up with an editorial plan, and publishing pieces every week. But the process taught us a lot both as journalists and as human beings. We are so much more hopeful about the world.”
From tips to combat eco-anxiety, to interviews with prominent environmentalists, Eco-Spotlight offers an intriguing array of green initiatives to inspire its readers. Since starting up last year their website has had over 28,000 organic visits as well as plenty of attention on social media.
“We are young and still building a community but it blows our minds how sometimes our content is shared by 50 to 60 people on Instagram,” exclaimed Ayushi.
While the changemakers they interview appreciate the publicity, their audience enjoys jargon-free information about environmentalism. They’ve even had readers from rural India reaching out to thank them for their articles available in braille that are published by White Print, India's first lifestyle magazine for people with sight loss.
Outside their work for Eco-Spotlight, Ayushi freelances as a local producer and is working on another sustainable startup for clean beauty products in India. Julia will start a traineeship with a German media organisation in April. But they are determined to keep Eco-Spotlight their key focus.
To support the young journalists’ work simply visit Eco-Spotlight.com and share any articles that interest you across social media.
