PROFILE : THE EUROPEAN JOURNALISM CENTRE (EJC)

The European Journalism Centre (EJC) is an independent, international, non-profit foundation dedicated to the highest standards in journalism, inter alia through the further training of journalists and media professionals. Building on its extensive international network, the Centre operates as a facilitator and partner in a wide variety of journalism related projects.

The main goals of the EJC are to:

• promote high quality journalism through professional training, particularly in a European context;
• provide a forum for discussion, debate, and exchanges of views and experience for journalists, editors, media executives and other media professionals;
• support, through training and networking, high standards of journalism in developing countries;
• promote ongoing journalistic capacity building that answers the needs of media professionals and the media industry;
• monitor and reflect, via research, surveys and publications, on the present and future challenges facing the media;
• create and support networks among media professionals within Europe and with other parts of the world.

The EJC plays a unique role at the European and international level as a partner and organiser for media companies, professional organisations, journalism schools and governmental bodies seeking to establish activities and projects.

The European Journalism Centre (EJC) works in four key areas that reflect the challenges to journalism and media development today. All of them are closely interconnected:

1. Media Development,
2. Press Freedom and Media Pluralism,
3. Journalists’ Qualifications and Networking
4. Journalistic Techniques and Innovation

To do their jobs well, journalists need excellent skills to recognise and develop newsworthy content and themes. Accordingly, the EJC helps reporters at all career stages understand and independently research the European Union in all its facets. Each year, the Centre hosts hundreds of journalists in seminars and study trips, exploring European policies as well as a variety of other topics.

At the same time, the EJC pushes forward the tools and working methods of the journalistic trade, for instance in data journalism, social media activities, investigative journalism courses, or newsroom management seminars. The Centre also partners with leading universities and businesses to develop entirely new IT applications for journalists and the media.

In all this, the EJC caters to European journalists as well as to their peers in emerging and developing countries. Both groups have their own demands and needs:

European reporters acquire in EJC seminars better insights into their beats, learn new techniques, and network with international colleagues as well as with all kinds of officials, experts, and stakeholders.

Journalists in emerging and developing countries often operate under precarious political conditions and do not always have the latest technologies at their disposal. The EJC backs them up – for example by supporting journalists’ associations, by bringing local journalism schools up to speed, and by helping developing countries to get the attention of an international media audience.

With all this comes the capacity to organise activities at European and global level, from workshops for a handful of participants to conferences hosting several hundred guests – complete with creating an exciting agenda, selecting and hiring of speakers, and making all necessary travel and logistical arrangements.

Services

The European Journalism Centre (EJC) offers services in the following areas:

• Seminars, workshops, and European as well as world-wide study trips for journalists and other media professionals at all career stages, including students;
• Thematic seminars, workshops, and study trips on all kinds of European affairs from overarching policies to highly specialised areas;
• Professional skills training for journalists and other media professionals, ranging from basics to cutting-edge techniques such as storytelling with data, social media and journalism, or transition management in newsrooms;
• Research, consulting and expertise on matters related to journalism, the media, and the public sphere;
• Websites and online resources for journalists and media professionals;
• Collaborative online spaces for news and debate;
• Editorially managed social media services;
• Media training for professionals outside of the media industry;
• Journalism awards and competition

In parallel, the EJC works in a range of grant-based activity areas:

• Media development outside the European Union, namely capacity building projects and infrastructural support for journalism and the media in developing countries around the globe as well as in the emerging democracies of the European Neighbourhood and the Mediterranean;
• Scientific research and development (R&D) projects under the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research (FP7) and the upcoming Horizon 2020 programme, particularly with regard to innovative tools for journalism and the media;
• Dissemination of European research activities and results;
• Coordination and support actions (CSAs) around research and development activities of the European Union and other actors;
• Not-for-profit websites;
• Editorially managed social media actions;
• Journalism awards and competitions.

Last but not least, the EJC runs and supports projects on its own initiative:

• Training and resources for emerging journalism beats, such as data driven journalism or Emergency journalism;
• Online collaborative blogging and journalistic reporting activities to enable direct debate between various stakeholders;
• Dedicated online communities for journalists;
• Web-based resources and services for journalists, including Brussels correspondents;
• Media watchdog and pluralism initiatives.

The EJC is not a grant-making foundation in and of itself, except under specific projects supported by third-party sponsors or donors.

Partners in Europe

1. Albania : Albanian Media Institute
2. Austria: Danube University Krems; Forum Journalismus und Medien Wien (FHUM)
3. Belgium: Association of European Journalists (AEJ); BBJ Consult AG; EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation; European Youth Press; Friends of Europe; Het Belang van Limburg; Institut des Hautes Etudes des Communications Sociales (IHECS); International Federation of Journalists (IFJ); International Press Centre (IPC); JADE; Journalists@YourService (JAYS); Katholiecke Universiteit Leuven; Le Soir; Minerva Consulting & Communication; Open Society Foundations; Residence Palace; UNJCR Brussels; Vlaamse Dagbladpers
4. Bosnia & Herzegovina: Media Plan Institute; Mediacentar Sarajevo; Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)
5. Bulgaria: Media Development Center
6. Croatia: Academy for Political Development; Croatian Journalists’ Association; International Center for Education of Journalists (ICEJ)
7. Czech Republic: The Project Syndicate
8. Denmark: Aalborg University; Danish Broadcast Corporation; Play the Game
9. Estonia: Estonia Television; Estonian Newspaper Association
10. Finland: SITRA Finnish Innovation Fund; University of Jyvaskyla
11. France: Association de la Presse Panafricaine (APPA); Centre de Formation et de Perfectionnement des Journalistes (CFPJ); Global Editors Network ; Institut Pratique de Journalisme (IPJ) ; Journalism ++ ; Radio France Internationale (RFI) ; World Association of Newspapers (WAN) ; XEROX Research Center Europe
12. FYROM : Macedonian Institute for Media ; School of Journalism and Public Relations
13. Georgia: Caucasus Press News Agency; Georgia Institute Public Affairs (GIPA); Open Society Georgia Foundation
14. Germany: Bayerischer Rundfunk; Deutsche Welle Akademie; Deutsche Welle Akademie-International Media Studies; Deutsche Welle Innovation Projetcts; European Patent Office; Friedrich Ebert Foundation; Institute of European Media Law, Interpress Service Europa; International Institute of Journalism Berlin-Brandenburg (IIJB); L4S University of Hannover; Südwestrundfunk (SWR); UN-SPIDER; UNFCCC; University of Bielefeld.
15. Greece: Athens Technology Centre (ATC); ESIEMTH; l-Sieve Technologies; National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos”
16. Hungary: Center for Independent Journalism; Regional Environmental Center
17. Iceland: Icelandic Journalist Union
18. Ireland: Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI); Storyful
19. Italy: Economisti Associati; Ente per le Nuove Technologie, l’Energia e l’Ambiente (ENEA) ; Marconi University ; Politecnico di Torino ; TRV Teleitalia
20. Latvia : Latvia Media Professionals Training Centre (LMDMC)
21. Lithuania: Lithuania Journalism Centre
22. Luxembourg: Intrasoft International; Ministry of Foreign Affairs
23. Malta: Diplo Foundation; Institute of Maltese Journalists
24. Moldova: Independent Journalism Centre
25. Montenegro: Montenegro Media Institute
26. Netherlands: Algemeen Dagblad; European Association for International Education (EAIE); European Centre for Development Policy Management; European Institute of Public Administration; European Journalism Training Association (EJTA); Fontys Hogeschool Journalistiek; Free Press Unlimited; Hivos; Hogeschool Utrecht; Hogeschool Zuyd; Maastricht University; Mediawijzer; Mensen met een Missie; Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken; Ministerie van Ondenwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap; Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid; Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek; Nederlandse Programma Stitching (NPS); Nederlandse Vereniging voor Journalisten; NTR; PICNIC Cross Media Week and Festival; Turkije Instituut; Universiteit van Amsterdam; University Ede; University of Amsterdam; UNU-MERIT- United Nations University; VPRO; Waag Society; World Press Photo
27. Norway: Forskningsstiftelsen FAFO; Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK)
28. Russia: RIA Novosti
29. Serbia: Media Centar Nis
30. Slovenia: University of Ljubljana- Faculty of Social Sciences; VIBACOM
31. Spain: AZTI-Tecnalia; Vicomtech; Vilaweb
32. Sweden: Mediamentorerna
33. Switzerland: Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne; EUResearch; Interactive Things; International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration
34. Turkey: Middle East Technical University; TUBITAK
35. Ukraine: Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI); Internews Ukraine, Media Law Institute
36. United Kingdom: Aberythwyth University; Article 19; BBC Studios and Post Production; City University London; Ecorys Ltd; Google Inc.; Internews Europe; Journalism.co.uk; Open Knowledge Foundation; OXFAM International; Polis Institute at LSE; Press Complaints Commission; Scraperwiki; Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC); The Climate Group; The Evaluation Partnership (TEP); The Guardian; Thompson Foundation; Thompson Reuters Foundation; University of Birmingham; University of Edinburgh