Ecofrontlines is inviting applications from eligible candidates for the Environmental Journalism Workshop. Applications are invited from the candidates of Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh.
About the Workshop
DW Akademie, Germany’s leading organization for international media development, is offering a workshop for mid-career media professionals in India. The workshop is part of the project “Eco-Frontlines in the Indo-Pacific: Strengthening local environmental journalism in South and Southeast Asia” which is financed by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt). Its goal is to support local media professionals from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan in the production of high-quality video stories on environmental issues.
Background
DW Akademie will offer a hybrid environmental journalism workshop in Hindi, consisting of 3 half-days of online training and 4 full days of in-person training in Bhopal, India. A maximum of 10 local media professionals from India can participate.
The workshop will empower participants to create video stories on an environmental issue. Participants who have successfully completed both trainings (online and offline), will be awarded a certificate.
The dates for the half-day online workshop sessions will be July 24 – 26, 2023. The in-person workshop will take place August 08 – 11, 2023 in Bhopal. These will be full-day sessions. The training will be carried out in cooperation with the Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper Dainik Bhaskar Group. The workshop includes a one-day field trip to an area affected by environmental problems to gain hands-on experience. Expenses for transportation, meals, and accommodation during the in-person workshop will be covered by DW Akademie. In the period between the online and offline training, participants will get small journalistic homework assignments. These will mainly include research activities and small support tasks in the story conception for an investigative DW documentary on an environmental topic. This will give participants the chance to work directly with experienced DW journalists on a major video feature.
Training Context
- Research and sources: Participants will learn new methods of finding reliable sources, data, and other environmental-related information. They will understand the difference between environmental journalism and activism when reporting on environmental issues.
- Storytelling: The training will showcase ways of storytelling that can engage audiences and make environmental topics relevant to their lives. The workshop will explore how local issues are connected to the global picture and how journalists can make their stories relevant to local as well as national audiences.
- Constructive Journalism: Climate change coverage can easily evoke feelings of helplessness and despair. Therefore, the workshop will discuss the importance of constructive journalism. This journalistic approach doesn’t only focus on problems and negativity but also highlights solutions and ways forward. Presenting such responses to environmental issues can engage and inspire audiences instead of demoralizing them.
- Safety and Security: Reporting on environmental issues can be risky. Therefore, one part of the course will examine how participants can stay safe and protect themselves from both physical and digital threats.
Video Production Grant and Mentoring
During the training, all participants will be asked to develop an environmental story pitch. The story pitch can further elaborate the pitch submitted in this application or it can cover a new topic. After the end of the training, DW Akademie will select the three best video pitches based on professional, transparent criteria. The authors of the three best pitches in each country will receive a production grant to cover personnel, research, material, and travel costs associated with the creation of the report. The first place will receive 660 EURO, the second and third 500 EURO each. The participants will
have approximately one month to complete their productions. During the production phase, experienced DW journalists will mentor them in Hindi or English.
If any of the videos produced as part of this project meet Deutsche Welle’s journalistic standards, DW may decide to broadcast them through its distribution channels.
Digital Environmental Conference
All workshop participants will be invited to an online environmental journalism summit after they have completed the training. This online conference will bring together media representatives, experts, and activists from South and Southeast Asia to discuss current environmental and climate change challenges in the region and possible solutions. The conference will most likely take place in November or December 2023.
Eligibility Criteria
- We can only accept applications from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and we can only accept individual applications, no team applications.
- The application is open to mid-career journalists in India aged 25 – 45 years, with 5-10 years of working experience, who publish in local media, with experience in video reporting and covering environmental issues.
- We encourage women, indigenous people, people of marginalized groups and people with disabilities to apply.
- Written and oral fluency in Hindi is required.
- Applicants must be able to actively participate full-time in the online training as well as the in-person workshop and at the digital environmental journalism conference.
- Access to a laptop or desktop computer with a stable internet connection is a prerequisite for participating in the online training workshop. It will not be possible to take part in the online training via smartphone.
- Media organizations that would like to send employees to participate in the training and the conference must grant them leave for the training days.
How You Can Apply
Please fill in the application form on Google Forms https://forms.gle/zw66ajMZ4Fy2oNrt7.
Additionally, each applicant should pitch an environmental story. We are aiming for stories that focus on climate and environmental issues in India. We welcome story ideas that emphasize how local communities deal with these changes in their environment. We encourage stories highlighting how women and other vulnerable groups are affected by ecological issues (this includes youth, indigenous people, ethnic minorities, members of marginalized groups, and people with disabilities). We appreciate stories that focus on potential solutions to ecological challenges.
Out of all applicants from India, DW Akademie will invite the 10 best-suited and motivated to participate in the journalism workshop.
Application Process
- Fill out the application form and include your story pitch in Hindi or English. This is the link to the application form: https://forms.gle/zw66ajMZ4Fy2oNrt7
- Please include a link to a video and/or environmental story you have already produced in the application form. The submitted video example should illustrate that you have video reporting and environmental reporting skills. The video should be in Hindi or English.
- Wait for a confirmation e-mail. If you are shortlisted as a participant for the training workshops, we will notify you as soon as possible.
- Applications submitted after the deadline cannot be considered
Application Deadline
- The deadline to submit applications is Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at midnight Indian (Bhopal) time.
- The ten best-qualified candidates will be notified of their acceptance into the workshop series by Tuesday, July 18, 2023.
- If you have any queries, please contact us at eco-india@dw.com. We wish you good luck with your application.
