M.A. Leonardo Soares Lopes

Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

PhD in Digital Media (PDMD), 2023-2027

Focus of study: Climate change communication: interaction between social actors and local communities to promote resilience

Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Porto

Master’s degree in communication sciences (MECC), 2020-2022

Master's dissertation: The power of image in communicating climate change: a historical-comparative study of visual coverage in the press

Faculty of Arts and Letters and Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

Bachelor’s degree in information science (LCI), 2017-2020

Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

PhD in Digital Media (PDMD), 2023-2027

Focus of study: Climate change communication: interaction between social actors and local communities to promote resilience

Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Porto

Master’s degree in communication sciences (MECC), 2020-2022

Master's dissertation: The power of image in communicating climate change: a historical-comparative study of visual coverage in the press

Faculty of Arts and Letters and Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

Bachelor’s degree in information science (LCI), 2017-2020

Forest FM – Engaging young people in rural fire prevention through a participatory radio program, funded by FCT (PCIF/AGT/0087/2019).

Researcher at the Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (ISPUP), 02/2023-12/2023

ForestFM is a project that aims to involve young people in promoting attitudes and behaviors favorable to fire prevention, fostering a collaborative approach. To this end, it will produce and evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory radio program in supporting the preparation of communities in regions affected by extreme fires.

https://ispup.up.pt/en/projeto/forest-fm-youth-engagement-in-wildfire-preparedness-through-participatory-radio/

The Images of Climate Change over the Last 20 Years: What Has Changed in the Portuguese Press?
Co-author – Paper published in the journal Journalism and Media (MDPI), 29/06/2023

“With focus on climate imagery, a content analysis was conducted on 1010 images used by a Portuguese newspaper (Público) between January 2000 and May 2022 to visually cover climate change. The purpose of the analysis was to identify the visual frames used by the newspaper to frame the issue”.

https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4030047

1Planet4All - Empowering youth, living EU values, tackling climate change

Educator - Workshop on the relevance of augmented reality in the climate context, 11/2021

1Planet4All is a 3-year project co-funded by the European Union, with the aim of raising awareness and critical understanding of climate change among young Europeans. The workshop was held as part of this project, in person, with the aim of raising awareness among university students and introducing augmented reality as an effective communication strategy.

Born in Porto (Portugal), he holds a master’s degree in communication sciences (specialization in Culture and Science) from the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Porto (2022) and a degree in Information Science from the Faculty of Arts and Letters, and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (2020).

In terms of research, his current interests are in science communication, health communication, storytelling strategies, communication models, environmental education and media narratives.

He worked as a facilitator in a workshop on the relevance of augmented reality in the climate context (2021), as part of the European Union co-funded project “1Planet4All - Empowering youth, living EU values, tackling climate change”, and co-authored the article “The Images of Climate Change over the Last 20 Years: What Has Changed in the Portuguese Press?” (2023) (https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4030047). He also worked as a researcher at the Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (ISPUP), for one year (2023), as part of the project “FOREST FM - Involving young people in the prevention of rural fires through a participatory radio program” (PCIF/AGT/0087/2019), as part of the Health Communication Research Laboratory.

He is currently a PhD student in Digital Media at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, and a researcher in the areas of climate change communication, resilient communities, local adaptation and urban development. Within the EUGLOH phD exchange programm (funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and the University Porto), Leonardo Lopes is also part of the team "Earth Science Communication and Climate Education" at the Department of Geography (LMU).