Ole Mathismoen

Ole Mathismoen, Norway, received this EMS Journalistic Award 2023 for two articles in which he exemplifies the imagined future of his son to portray the possible climate futures in Oslo: Hva skjer med Syvers vintre? (“What is happening to Syvers winters?”) and Hva skjer med Syvers somre? Norge blir det nye Syden” (What is happening to Syvers Summers? Norway becomes the new south”)
Translation: What-is-happening-to-Syvers-winters

Ole Mathismoen makes a strong attempt to “humanise” the climate change problem in a manner that many people can (hopefully) relate to. He presents very concrete stories for summer and winter in Oslo based on his own memories in Oslo 55 years ago and his 5 years old son present and the future 75 years. The originality and relevance of the approach may attract public attention to how climate change impacts everyday life.

About Ole Mathismoen

Ole Mathismoen is an experienced journalist in Aftenposten, the major paper in the greater Oslo region with a national outreach in Norway, who has specialized in climate and environmental journalism. Mathismoen has a long list of articles in the field of climate, environment and energy. He has published, as author or co-autor, 12 books in the fields.

These two articles use Ole Mathismoen’s son Syver to portray the possible climate futures in Oslo. Both articles start with a picture of Syver, and a description of the current climate for the chosen season. To really make the story personal and to give a climatic context is a description of Ole’s childhood climate included. Leaving the present climate is Syver revisited again when he is 35 years old in 2052, 65 years in 2082, and at the end of the century. Syvers development from a boy of 5 years was presented with pencil drawings of Syver at 5, 35 and 65 years old. The drawings and graphs were made by the editorial developer Torstein Ringnes.
The articles were presented in two formats, one in the printed paper  and in an electronic long read format online. Both formats were well received, but the later gave a more interactive feel when one scrolled through, e.g. fading from a photo to a drawing of Syver and adding points to graphs when scrolling. Climate indexes in both articles were a combination of generic indexes like average temperature and season specific indexes. The reception was overall good, with a high number of readers clicking on the article and people reading through the entire article.