You are a journalist from Armenia and Georgia. You are interested in and working on the relations between those two countries. You have a good knowledge of economics and an idea what the affiliation to different economic blocs means for trade and cooperation. You want to strengthen the relations between your home country and its neighbor, especially in a time when real wars show effect your region directly and indirectly and show an even stronger need for closer cooperation. And you would love to discuss all those issues with colleagues and top-experts during a seminar in Berlin.
If you find yourself in this description, you are the perfect candidate for our multi-level project “Overcoming divisions through exchange and research”.
It is organized by Berlin Journalism School in cooperation with “Journalists for the Future” NGO from Armenia and “Green Alternative” from Georgia and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office as part of #CivilSocietyCooperation.
In the first part, most likely being held from in end of August, ten journalists – five each from Georgia and Armenia – will come to a seminar at Berlin Journalism School in Berlin. Here they will enjoy lectures on and discussions about the EU economic policy in the area of the EaP countries.
They will also be able to contribute examples from their own reporting. The participants will meet German colleagues with a professional focus on the EU, EaP and EEU, visit an editorial office and have talks with a representative of the Federal Foreign Office or the Federal Ministry of Economics. Finally, the seminar offers the opportunity to discuss topics for joint journalistic cross-border articles.
A few weeks later, the Armenian and Georgian participants will meet again for two days either in Tbilisi or Yerevan to meet experts from both countries. They will discuss the EEU and also Russian strategies and their implications for Armenia’s relations with its neighbouring countries, especially with Georgia.
With the impressions and the facts they gained in these discussions the participants will go on a two days research in the border region of the respective other country and produce a story on their findings. Focuses could be the development of border trade, possible problems and people’s concerns when looking at their neighboring country.
Finally, they will join a three-day summer workshop in a location close to the border from 23 to 25 September with 20 NGO representatives from Armenia and Georgia. The journalists will help the NGOs to understand how they and their projects can get attention of the media. At the same time they will also write about border-crossing projects which the NGOs have developed.
Travel expenses, accommodation and costs for visa (if necessary) will be covered. For the cross-border research a small remuneration will be paid.
Who can apply?
English-speaking journalists of all ages – employees or freelancers from Armenia and Georgia – who are interested in Armenian-Georgian relations and have proven experience in economic reporting.
What do we need from you?
- A cover letter in which you describe both your professional background and the reasons for your application.
- An idea for journalistic cross-border story you would like to work on with a colleague from your neighboring country.
- Detailed curriculum vitae.
- If possible a proof of your knowledge of English.
Send these documents only via e-mail (pdf, in total not more than 5 MB) to [email protected] not later than June 26th, 2022. Please send only certificates and recommendations if they have a direct connection to your applications, e.g. a prove showing experience as a trainer or international cooperation, but no certificates from university.
Covid-19 information:
Due to a dynamic situation, we cannot predict the pandemic situation by in August in Germany as well as in Armenia and Georgia in October. Therefore, we do not exclude the possibility of changing the format of the seminar/workshops to hybrid. We will communicate all possible changes with you and promise to make everything possible to maintain your safety and health. Furthermorer, we would ask all chosen participants to get vaccinated with EU-approved vaccine to avoid restrictions when coming to Berlin.
If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact Clemens Schöll, head of the program [email protected].