Berlin Scholarship Program: Empowering Journalists in the Digital Field (Germany)

The program is funded by the Berlin for Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises.

Topics

• The main topics of the program will be:
  • Holistic security basics for journalists, bloggers, media professionals and citizen journalists at risk;
  • Operational security including risk assessments and security planning;
  • Online identity management for investigative journalists, including technical background and practical use of anonymization tools;
  • Secure online communication concepts, technology and tools, including secure online conferencing for interviews;
  • Password and account security and data protection on social media and other online accounts for media work;
  • Device security for computers and mobile phones of journalists at risk;
  • Website security for media websites under attack;
  • Secure online and offline data storage including encryption for media files;
  • Online information verification and Open Source Intelligence;
  • Digital Violence (Online Gender Based Violence, Doxing, Impersonation, Trolling).

What they offer?

• They cover the travel costs, take care of all visa-related matters, provide and pay for an apartment in Berlin for the duration of the scholarship, grant a monthly allowance of 1000€/month, pay for the health insurances and for the use of public transportation in Berlin.
• Every fellow will participate in an extensive training program in the field of digital security with experienced trainers for several months.
• Furthermore, during their stay in Berlin, scholarship holders will be given insights into the activities of Reporters Without Borders Germany, a globally-active journalist and human rights organization.

Period of stay in Berlin

• The stay is limited to six months. It starts in the beginning of May 2024 and ends at the end of October 2024. The exact dates for the travel to and from Berlin will be communicated to the chosen participants.

Who can apply?

• Professional journalists, bloggers, media professionals and citizen journalists who
  • are exposed to digital threats of any form;
  • and also experienced digital violence such as doxxing or impersonation;
  • want to educate themselves about digital security in order to improve their personal security and the safety of their sources;
  • are interested in passing on the knowledge acquired during the scholarship program to colleagues in their home regions and, ideally, already have some experience in teaching or other areas of knowledge transfer;
  • are able and willing to fully participate in the program. They expect the applicants to be available for all activities of the program including the comprehensive training for digital security. Please plan with about 20 to 25 hours per week during the training period;
  • In the selection process, positive consideration will be given to applicants who work as investigative journalists on topics such as the climate crisis, corruption, labor rights or migration.

Requirements

• Every applicant
  • must have a very strong command of the English language, as the whole scholarship program will be conducted entirely in English; and
  • must have adequate experience working as a journalist, be it as a professional journalist or as a citizen journalist; and
  • must show a strong interest in learning in-depth about digital security for journalists. A high level of proficiency in regards to digital security is not required. Anyone who is used to working with a computer and smartphone can apply;
  • are able and willing to fully participate in all activities of the program;
  • must show that they are willing to return to their home region after the fellowship in Germany;
  • must not necessarily have previous experience as a trainer or teacher, although it is desirable.

For more information, visit Reporters Without Borders Germany.