Do you have to be great at TikTok to reach kids?

In 2023 a small team at MET Norway - the Sandbox - started working on ideas of communicating more directly with kids about weather forecasts and warnings in a changing climate. We want kids growing up, knowing where to find weather forecasts and information about the weather and climate. And that they know and trust the source. With AI and the vast amount of information and weather services there are, it is essential for us that they know us as a reliable source the day they need us.

At MET Norway we have been developing weather services for a broad audience since 2007 (Yr). We learned that digital services should be developed according to user needs and not our needs. All users benefit from good communication. Plain language and simplification is a good start. Therefore we have started looking at how we communicate with kids.

Kids in Norway learn some basics about weather and climate in school. We have conducted four surveys since 2020, mapping how kids and young people use weather forecasts. We also have a very popular online encyclopedia in Norway that schools use, but the majority does not know that MET Norway is the source of the content related to weather and climate. The surveys and our experience show us that we need to be more visible and active in how we communicate.

MET Norway has been successful in communicating weather forecasts in Social Media. An interdisciplinary Social Media team, led by a communications expert and a meteorologist, makes content in different formats and answers questions from the public. The overall reach is good, except in the youngest user groups. But do you have to be the next big hit on TikTok to do that? We don't think so.

Kids need help to learn the basics. How to get dressed for everyday activities and what they need to know to be happy and safe doing them. They would also like to know what they can do for the climate and the environment. They need an honest, useful and reliable source of information. Our goal is to give them that.

In 2023 we had meetings with organizations and companies that communicate great with kids, to get inspiration and advice. In 2024 we started working on our language and got financial support to work on a design profile. We have made two ready made assignments for teachers to use. And together with an amusement park we are launching a digital board game that will be used in communicating weather, climate change and clean energy.

Addressing this theme at the EMS, we hope to inspire others to work on communicating better with kids and young people.