Helga van Leur

For the EMS TV Weather Forecast Award 2017 Helga van Leur, RTL The Netherlands, was selected.

Eight video clips of TV weather forecasts were submitted for the Award, four of the entries were received from countries outside of Europe. The selection committee choose the forecast produced by Helga van Leur (The Netherlands) to receive the award.

Citation

The entry demonstrated that Helga van Leur combines weather and climate in her presentation in a way that makes it relevant and interesting to viewers; adding climate-related information to the forecast was very helpful. Helga has clearly honed her presentation skills with great use of voice, facial expressions and arm movements to convey the message, supported by her graphics.

Biography

Helga van Leur was born 1970, and holds a Master’s Degree in Soil, Water and Atmosphere (Wageningen University, 1994), is certified in marketing (1997) and took Courses in Psychology related to Communication in Sustainability and Climate Change (2014-2017).

She worked as a media meteorologist in the 1990s, and has been a broadcast meteorologist for RTL The Netherlands since 1997. Helga has won numerous awards, participated in Netherlands Scientific Expedition – Spitsbergen for awareness and communication (2015), is an ambassador of the Red Cross in the Netherlands for awareness, vulnerability and self-reliance during extreme weather events, and a passionate speaker about weather, climate, sustainability and behavior to improve awareness, urgency and perspectives to act.