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Rethinking Journalism
Rethinking Journalism
Start date: Aug 1, 2014,
End date: Dec 31, 2014
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project "Rethinking Journalism " brings together young journalists and media makers from Germany, Austria, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia to a seven-day meeting in Berlin (Germany). The participants will familiarize themselves with the concepts of conflict-sensitive journalism and peace journalism. These concepts have been developed as a solution to report more peace- and solution-oriented about conflicts and the representation of different interests in societies. They also try through self-reflection to help journalists avoid stereotypes, prejudices, and the escalation of unstable situations. Both in Tunisia and Egypt the uprisings and regime changes of recent years have opened a need for unbiased media coverage, but also the post-conflict societies Lebanon and Bosnia and Herzegovina still need to fight for the freedom of the press and peace-oriented media content, as many times the reports are still biased or censored. On the other hand in Europe there is a great need for balanced and more in-depth coverage of the Middle East and North Africa regions as well as the Balkans.
The objectives of the project are: to give the participants insights and knowledge in the fields of conflict-sensitive journalism and peace journalism and also to strengthen their intercultural skills through the participation in this youth exchange; to increase the qualifications of participants with skills they can compete with in the labor market of their countries of origin; to strengthen the participation of youth in society; to help developing an independent, fair and balanced media landscape in project partner countries; to promote intercultural dialogue; and to create an international and active network of young journalists from neighboring regions .
The project brings together 34 young journalists and media makers from the project partner countries. A balanced representation of men and women will be taken into account in the selection of participants. The participants should have a proven interest in the topic of the project and are either students in journalism and communication studies and/or have worked as journalists. In addition, they should be interested in intercultural exchange with other young people from neighboring regions . The people involved in the project are 18-30 years old.
The learning in the youth exchange is conducted primarily in a non-formal way. The participants will learn from each other and with each other and actively contribute to the contents of the exchange. They will together analyze existing news and reports about conflicts and define based on their experiences and on the tendencies in today's conflict reporting, what ideal journalistic ethics and balanced reports should look like. The youth exchange is inspired by speakers and experts who have extensive experience in conflict areas. The participants will produce in small groups reports for an online magazine and thus put the acquired knowledge on conflict-sensitive journalism into practice. The magazine will be distributed via the networks of all project partners and aimed at an audience of young media makers, journalists, and other interested parties in Europe and its neighboring countries.
The project is conducted in close cooperation between all partners. The project is managed and coordinated by members of Youthpress Germany with the support of the European Youth Press . The organizations managing the project are responsible for the content, financial and organizational matters as well as the integration of partners and speakers. From each of the project partner organizations there is one contact person who communicates closely with the project managers. The participants are selected through an open call, which is distributed by the partner organizations, but also through other channels such as newsletters. The participants are selected jointly with the partners. The project has an evaluation plan, which will contribute to the sustainability and long-term effects of the project.
The expected results are based on the understanding of young media makers and journalists as key actors in the development of professionalism in society. The project serves the participants in acquiring new professional competences. In the long term the project will help to strengthen the international dimension of learning in general and the intercultural competence of the participating young journalists. Democratic values such as freedom of expression, press freedom, peace, and solidarity are strenghtened through the participants since they act as multipliers and they in their work have access to the public sphere. The project will create an international network of young and active journalists from neighboring regions. It also aims to promote a better and long-term cooperation of the organizations involved. In addition, the participating organisations will benefit of the project as capacity building.