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Description
The project aims to help young journalists counter misinformation through quality fact-checking and reference to reliable sources of information. The war in Ukraine is, among other things, an information war. It brought to our attention the problem of disinformation and the lack of consistent presence of international news in media. By introducing young people to the mechanisms of the international security system and the specifics of covering conflicts, the project will confirm the role of peace journalism as a tool for improving democratic culture and civic awareness.
Activities include developing a Peace Journalism training program with emphasis on human rights and combating disinformation. In 3 consecutive seminars, we will train 30 young journalists with an interest in international journalism. We will hold a "Peace Journalism” competition and award the 15 best articles in 5 categories. We will establish a Young Journalists Support Council, in which established experts in the field of international relations, journalists and university professors will provide mentoring support to the award-winning youth. We will publish a handbook "Young Reporters for Peace" as a final product of the project, which will introduce the concept of "peace journalism" and will contain the training materials used in the project and other tools for working on the topic.
Our project partner is the Foundation "For a New Partnership in Journalism", whose members are leading professors of journalism at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", journalists and representatives of national commissions on journalistic ethics. They will participate in the preparation of the program and training seminars for young journalists and will assist with attracting practitioners in the field.
The main target group of the project is the media such as UNA News Bulgaria and other partner media, and the end beneficiaries are young people between the ages of 18-29 - young journalists and students.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address the information aspect of the war in Ukraine and the ability of young people to critically analyze information and news in the media. The goal of the project was for young journalists to help citizens develop a critical attitude to information about the war in Ukraine by correctly presenting international events.
A training program for young professionals was developed with the help of international journalists and representatives of the academy. The knowledge of 30 young people about the international security system, the context of the war in Ukraine, the role of the international journalist, the ways of verifying information and combating disinformation was developed.
A "Journalism for Peace" competition was held, which put a positive emphasis on the key role of quality coverage of international news. The established Council for the Support of Young Journalists supported the youth trained in the project through mentoring and general meetings. The end users in the form of young people (18-29) were directly involved in the activities and benefited from the development of skills, acquisition of new knowledge, contacts and development of a professional network, support and mentoring.
The project raised awareness of the messages and narratives in the public space regarding the war in Ukraine. The understanding of the role of international organizations and the functioning of the international security system was increased.
The participants’ developed skills for searching for information, identifying quality sources, fact-checking, writing journalistic materials that are in sync with ethical and professional principles of conflict-sensitive journalism.
The project promoter enriched its experience and expertise in working with young journalists, expanded contacts and the network of partners and created prerequisites for continued work in this topic.
Experts from the partner organization were involved in every stage of the project – the training program development, the information seminars and the journalistic competition. The competition “Journalism for Peace” can be used as a tool to promote ethical journalism on conflicts and to fight disinformation.