n-ost - Network for border crossing journalism

I participated in the Conference on Climate Journalism in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, hosted by n-ost. I addressed the workshop “Navigating Climate Change Narratives in the Agricultural Sector” as a speaker, with my presentation “Climate Change Affects the Production of Honey in Macedonia.” For me, it was an opportunity to hear about various media projects and storytelling about climate change, as well as the challenges of doing this kind of journalism in a variety of institutional contexts.

Open Call: Research Trip to Georgia, 7-12 October 2024 Following a recent visit of Georgian investigative journalists at our Berlin Hub, we're excited to announce a research trip to Tbilisi. This trip is an opportunity for European journalists to gain deeper insights into Georgia's political and media landscape as the parliamentary elections approach—a crucial moment to understand the dynamics shaping the country's future. • Dates: 7-12 October 2024 • Location: Tbilisi, Georgia • Eligibility: European journalists (including non-EU countries) • Coverage: n-ost will provide flights, accommodation, and meals • Participation fee: 200€ • Application deadline: 12 September 2024 Program Outline: • Meetings with Georgian politicians across the political spectrum • Discussions with human rights organizations and civil society groups • Networking with local journalists and media experts • Field visits to relevant sites and institutions This trip builds on our recent exchanges and is part of n-osts broader efforts to enhance foreign reporting, combat disinformation, and strengthen media freedom in the region. Who can apply? • European journalists (including non-EU) • 3+ years of professional experience • Strong interest in Georgia’s political scene • Proficiency in English (working language of the program) For further information, follow the Link: https://lnkd.in/eaHdKnQB #MediaFreedom #InvestigativeJournalism #OpenCall #n_ost

Last week I was in Tbilisi to give a workshop on how teams can use different access rights in cross-border research. That was very exciting, but what resonates even more a few days later are the powerful conversations with colleagues on the ground. For months now, newsrooms have been kicked in, cars have been vandalised, and it is not just the faces of the most prominent journalists that appear on posters that can hardly be seen as anything more than a call to action. Journalists also report that their parents, children and friends are receiving repeated threatening phone calls from strangers. Free, investigative journalism is currently almost impossible in Georgia without foreign funding. A new law against so-called foreign agents now targets the press. Journalistic organisations will have to register and disclose all their finances. A planned law against 'LGBTQ propaganda' could further restrict press freedom. Editorial offices could be closed if they report on LGBTQ issues. In two months, Georgians will vote for a new parliament. Many seem uncertain because the outcome will also determine whether the current government can continue to turn the country into an illiberal democracy. Alongside these depressing conversations, I had other encouraging encounters. Journalists from Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Georgia are doing impressive research on the climate crisis in sometimes difficult circumstances. After the workshop, they may work together more often in the future. I'm excited. Thanks for the great organisation and the invitation to the team from n-ost - Network for border crossing journalism (Iryna, Anneke) and lika from Publika.ge And thank you for the exciting and open discussions Katerina, Moldir, Daiva, Katherine, Tatsiana, Svitlana, Marine, Aleksandar, Dickon, Brawley and Julian. I hope we can continue them on another occasion. Photo: Vakho Kareli

🗺️Climate change is a reality - also in Eastern Europe. 🧊Glaciers are melting, 🧑🌾 Farmers are struggling. 🌡️Old and marginalized people in particular suffer from the unbearable heat in summer. 🇪🇺Yet many governments in Eastern Europe are doing little to prepare their countries for the challenges ahead. 🔉And the media is often finding it difficult to convey the consequences of climate change in real human stories. -How can I tell an exciting climate story? -How is climate change related to topics such as health and disinformation? -Where can I find reliable data about my country? -Which new formats can I use to reach a large audience? I am happy that I was part of the workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia 🇬🇪 organized by n-ost - Network for border crossing journalism. Thank you Iryna Ponedelnik and @Anneke Hudula for having me #climate_in_depth #n_ost #iks #doma #mrt #britishcouncil

Most of the conversations I have about #ClimateCommunication assume that all the tools are on the table, if only we'd use them. But earlier this week, I learned about some contexts where that simply isn't the case. 👇 Attending a conference on #ClimateJournalism in #EasternEurope and #Caucasus, organised by n-ost - Network for border crossing journalism, I heard how the likes of censorship, authoritarianism, and full-scale war can significantly restrict access to those tools. I learned how state surveillance, intimidation, propaganda, corruption, and more, work to hinder effective reporting on topics of public interest. Particularly, on issues like health and pollution, food security, energy and infrastructure, and environmental degradation, that intersect with the broader issue of #ClimateChange. To discover a band of committed journalists – some living in exile in order to assert their freedom of speech, some reporting from war zones where climate issues nevertheless demand attention, others battling a lack of basic data whether due to hostile occupation of territory or blatant government opacity – dedicated to delivering through their craft despite all these challenges, was humbling. As you can probably imagine, there are some incredibly insightful episodes of the Communicating Climate Change podcast in the pipeline. Stay tuned.

Tbilisi is an incredible city, and I was always delighted to come and speak to journalists at n-ost - Network for border crossing journalism here. But it was quite a humbling experience, as well— because for most of the journalists here both climate and conflict are topics that shape not just their coverage but their own lives. Perhaps they've had to flee their countries, due to repression or war, or they spend their days attempting to wrangle basic weather data from a government that is not only uncooperative, but is taking increasingly extreme measures to harass, surveil, and discredit them. We've had conversations about how to know if your phone is infected with Pegasus, what it means to leave your country and attempt to learn a new language (and hope you don't have to flee your new home, too), and how war reverberates whether your country is being bombed as we speak (Ukraine), or the memory of war is still vivid for almost every single person in your society (Georgia.) All this, as Georgian democracy is at a turning point ahead of the elections this autumn, and the ruling party is essentially attempting to not just stamp out independent journalism, but brand these journalists enemies of the state. (The food, I will always also mention, was also fantastic.) Thanks to Anneke Hudula and Iryna Ponedelnik for having me, and thanks to all the participants for your insight, conversations and patience with my questions. And it was so great, too, to meet a couple OCJN alumni, including Alexej Ovchinnikov and Nico Schmidt! A quick edit here too, that the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has published my speech, featuring OCJN alumni including Patryk Strzałkowski, Baktygul Chynybaeva, Lameez Omarjee and Murtalla Abdullahi. https://lnkd.in/e3iuWtUa

🇬🇧 Calling Ukrainian Journalists: get your spot in our media camp on investigating war crimes Are you a journalist from a Ukrainian regional online publication? Join us for a week-long media camp, 13 -18 October 2024 in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. What's in it for you? • Learn from experts like Yevheniia Motorevska (The Kyiv Independent ), Elena Loginova (The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project ), and Svitlana Oslavska (@trpukraine ) • Gain skills in documenting war crimes, ethical interviewing, information verification • Receive up to 500 euros for implementing your own project • Free participation, including travel, accommodation and meals Apply by September 15 For details and application, follow the Link in bio 📸 by Mstyslav Chernov/ UnFrame 🇺🇦 Запрошуємо українських журналістів(-ок): подавайтеся на медіатабір із розслідування воєнних злочинів Ви журналіст(-ка) українського регіонального онлайн-видання? Приєднуйтесь до тижневого медіатабору, що відбудеться 13-18 жовтня 2024 року в Івано-Франківській області. Що ви отримаєте? • Навчатиметеся у таких експерток як Євгенія Моторевська (@kyiv ), Олена Логінова (The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project ) та Світлана Ославська (@trpukraine ) • Здобудете навички документування воєнних злочинів, етичного проведення інтерв'ю, перевірки інформації • Отримаєте до 500 євро на реалізацію власного проєкту • Безкоштовну участь, включаючи проїзд, проживання та харчування Подавайте заявки до 15 вересня Деталі за посиланням: https://lnkd.in/eEMB9-Yh

A whole new world of #climate journalism What an enriching couple of days: for the first time in my life, I am spending a bit of time in the Caucasus region and I am lucky enough to do so meeting journalist colleagues from countries like Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus at a journalism conference organised by n-ost - Network for border crossing journalism in Tbilisi. #climateindepth Journalists from Belarus living in exile in neighbouring countries, Ukrainian colleagues who left their homes and are currently based in the EU with host families, but also those who remain in the country – all of them have shared their – sometimes personal – stories with me. I am incredibly grateful, because these conversations not only help make me aware of their difficult work environments. More so, hearing about them first-hand creates an emotional connection. Rather than just having the abstract knowledge of the dangers journalists face who are not as privileged as I am, I hope to have more empathy in the future. From a professional point of view, it will help me improve our journalist training and better consider such backgrounds. What good is it to talk about covering the intricacies of COP negotiations in Baku, when journalists have immense trouble even attending in-person. At the conference, colleagues are sharing their experience and expertise on issues like covering the Black Sea amid diverse crises, climate journalism resources, and Katherine Dunn from the Oxford Climate Journalism Network talked about why climate coverage remains important even as geopolitical crises, understandably, take the spotlight. Together with Olha Boiko from Climate Action Network Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (CAN EECCA), we kicked off the week in Tbilisi with a pre-conference session yesterday on covering the #COP29 UN climate change conference, which takes place in Azerbaijan in November. A great group of participants from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine came up with cross-border pitches on topics ranging from weaning eastern European and Caucasus states off Russian nuclear energy, to what countries in the region can learn from each other regarding food production heavily impacted by #climatechange. I hope some of these ideas have a chance to see the light of day! Anneke Hudalla Iryna Ponedelnik Kostiantyn Donchenko Clemens Schöll Boris Schneider Nico Schmidt Marine Leduc

n-ost and in-depth launch their first conference on climate journalism in the Eastern Europe and Caucasus region, August 27-29th! From melting Caucasus glaciers to war-torn Ukrainian fields, Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus face unprecedented climate challenges. Yet, these stories often go untold or fail to resonate. We aim to provide journalists with the tools to bridge the gap between complex science and compelling storytelling. • Keynote by Katherine Dunn (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism on climate reporting amid crises • Special focus: Climate journalism in wartime Ukraine • Workshops on data journalism, local storytelling, and climate-health connections • Tbilisi urban resilience tour and newsroom visits • Preparation for COP29 in Azerbaijan Katherine Dunn: "After all, climate change and conflict do not have a perfect one to one relationship, but are more like a prism, reflecting and reinforcing one another.." Follow us @n_ost_climate on Instagram for more insights on the future of climate journalism in Eastern Europe and beyond.

We're thrilled to reveal this year's Recherchepreis Osteuropa winners, awarded in partnership with Renovabis and 'Hoffnung für Osteuropa'. Our distinguished jury selected two outstanding projects from a competitive field of 30 submissions: ·   Emilia Sulek and Danil Usmanov investigating the lives of Roma children with disabilities in Ukraine. Their project aims to document transformative efforts in childcare amidst ongoing conflict, shedding light on an often-overlooked community. ·   Anna Alboth and Nadine Wojcik working on refugee women's experiences at the Polish-Belarusian border. They highlight crucial local support networks and the challenges faced by those seeking safety. The award totalling 7000 euros is intended to support the research and production of a major social story to be published in German-language media. The award ceremony will take place on October 24th at 7pm at Katholische Akademie, Berlin. The event will feature a thought-provoking panel discussion on 'European Union XXL - Expansion Plans between Geopolitics and Need for Reform' bringing together experts to discuss the future of European integration. The ceremony and discussion will be held in German. #bordercrossingjournalism #JournalismInnovations