New Nordic/Russian co-operation – focus on arctic, climate and journalism
Cooperation makes a difference
- It is crucial that Russian journalists have access to mid-career training, and here the continuous cooperation between Nordic and Russian colleagues can really make a difference, says John Frølich, head of the Nordic Journalist Centre (NJC). He points out that Nordic journalists also benefit a lot from the collaboration.
Greater understanding of each other
- We should not come up with "the Nordic fact list", but show respect and openly say that we also have challenges, e.g. with ethics and give examples of best practices and how we tackle the problems, says John Frølich.
The topic of one of the courses in 2020 was, for example, how to cover sensitive topics such as domestic violence, suicide or sexual orientation. Here, the two Nordic course leaders learned as much as the course participants.
The perspective in the long term is that we have create greater understanding of each other's conditions and thereby a better media coverage of the Nordic countries and of Russia, underlines John Frølich.
Next to Me 2021. Masterclass for young photojournalists. Living conditions in the high north. Arctic, climate, indigenous peoples. 12 Nordic and Russian young photo talents will cover the changed living conditions of the peoples of the Barents region, including the conditions of the indigenous peoples. End product: A photo book about people in the High North.
Regional development in the Barents region. Roadtrip for Nordic local and regional journalists. In the Barents region, they have found solutions for regional, sustainable development that the whole of the Nordic region can learn from. We visit the region and gain new knowledge, inspiration and tools.
Establishment of "Nordic - Northwest Russian climate network". A network of Nordic and Russian climate-interested journalists with the aim of improving local/regional media coverage of the short-term and long-term consequences of climate change. The start-up is a two-day seminar with the participation of 20 Russian and Nordic local and regional journalists who are interested in climate change and who want to improve their ongoing coverage. The long-term goal is to publish a Nordic handbook in climate reporting.
8 workshops and seminars in Northwest Russia. Knowledge sharing and skills development in new, digital media and professional use of social media. Current topics/issues related to the journalistic profession, media law and ethics. Topics might include:
- Data journalism, investigative journalism
- Visual journalism, infographic
- Interviewing techniques
- Hate speech and threats against journalists
- Gender in journalism
All activities are selected and planned in close dialogue with and following proposals from NJC's Russian partners, including the NGO Barents Press Russia.
