Call for Application for young journalists from the Eastern Partnership countries!

“JOURNALISM BETWEEN POLITICS, PROPAGANDA AND PRISON”

12 to 18 September 2015, Potsdam, Germany

 

The prominent role played by propaganda in the political-military conflict between Russia and the Ukraine has become increasingly clear. “In the war of words, Ukraine has become the battlefield. Russian propaganda is Putin’s sharpest weapon,” writes DIE ZEIT. American historian Timothy Snyder has described how – and how dramatically – Russian propaganda has distorted the world’s picture of Ukraine, and what role the media has played in this regard. This year’s M100 Young European Journalists Workshop, encompassing all the countries of the Eastern Partnership but with a particular focus on Ukraine, will examine the use of propaganda instruments and the manipulation and intimidation of journalists, along with the associated effects on the reputation of the media, the population at large, and relationships between the individual countries.

Held in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Ministry, the workshop invites young journalists between 18 and 26 years from the Eastern Partnership countries Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as Germany. The event will offer a six-day intensive workshop led by expert subject-area trainers. Participants will be taught how propaganda works and what its objectives are, how it can be recognised, how to verify information (including within social networks), and how as journalists they can defend themselves against propaganda, co-optation, and manipulation by governments and lobbyists. Participants will also share their own experiences, discussing threats and influences they are exposed to in their own work, and the way that propaganda functions or is deployed in their own countries.

Participants will be required to work in teams to accomplish specific tasks, thus gaining new insights from one another. This lays a foundation for their further work, and for the strengthening of free, independent journalism in these countries, in turn heightening awareness of the importance of a free press for these countries’ populations and their further democratisation. Not least, participation in the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium, which will be attended by 50 to 60 senior editors, academics, bloggers, and politicians from Europe and the USA on 17 September 2015. The subject of ‘70 Years Potsdam Agreement: At a new crossroads?’ will be discussed in three sessions to create a constructive, intersectoral dialogue between the participants on the heritage of the Potsdam Agreement and the prospects for a liberal democratic Europe in an increasingly blurred world order.

Conditions of participation:
Young journalists between 18 and 26 years old from Eastern Partnership countries Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as Germany can apply by submitting a text in English (5.000 characters, including spaces maximum) and the following task:
"Journalism between Politics, Propaganda and Prison in my country". Describe your knowledge and own experiences with this issue in your journalistic work, if situation has changed in the last years, if and how media and journalists are controlled or threatened and how they deal with this situation.
    
Please include a brief CV (with a photo) and motivational statement in your application, stating your reasons for applying for this particular workshop (both in English). 20 to 25 participants will be selected from among the applicants and invited to Potsdam from 12 September (arrival) to 19 September 2015 (departure). The organisers of the M100 Young European Journalists Workshop will cover accommodation and board during the workshop. A travel allowance is provided. The workshop will be held in English.

Please send your application in by 29 June 2015 to Ms Sabine Sasse, sThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

The workshop is an initiative of the City of Potsdam and Potsdam Media International e.V. and supported by the Federal Foreign Office, and takes place in cooperation with the European Youth Press, JanukovychLeaks, and the Ukraine Crisis Media Center.