Training Program for Journalist and Editors on Youth-Driven Community Journalism

This 3-day program is created to address the current challenges within the media industry, and to tackle the pressing issue of  “news deserts” – communities, whether rural or urban, with limited access to the kind of credible and comprehensive news that sustains grassroots democracy. Additionally, this program aims to reshape the landscape of newsrooms with the experiences of YoCoJoin.

YoCoJoin is committed to enhancing diversity and representation in media by equipping local outlets with essential skills on how to include young people in the newsrooms. Through this initiative, they aim to foster journalism that captures the experiences of diverse voices across Europe, especially in areas lacking robust media coverage.

The immersion workshops in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Tilburg (The Netherlands) are designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively engage local youth through media. Through a combination of presentations, workshops, and group activities, participants will leave with practical skills, action plans, and strategies for fostering youth involvement in media based on YoCoJoin experience.

Objectives

• Build capacity for local media organisations, with a focus on youth-driven community journalism.
• Test and refine a new Youth Community Journalism model for application across diverse media settings.
• Create a network of local media organisations to support each other to fight against media deserts.
• Strengthen the representation and voice of young community journalists in media organizations.

Modules

• Modules:
  • The immersion workshops in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Tilburg (The Netherlands) are designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively engage local youth through media. Through a combination of presentations, workshops, and group activities, participants will leave with practical skills, action plans, and strategies for fostering youth involvement in media based on YoCoJoin experience:
    • Module 1: Focuses on understanding the importance of youth engagement, with topics that explore the role of youth in the media ecosystem, the value of their involvement in local media, and how youth engagement can help future-proof media outlets. Youth engagement in local media is important for shaping the future of media outlets by ensuring they remain diverse, and innovative, while empowering young people to actively participate in media creation and decision-making.
    • Module 2: Emphasizes building effective engagement strategies by understanding youth interests, co-creating content with young people, and leveraging popular digital platforms for meaningful interaction.
    • Module 3: Concentrates on sustaining long-term youth engagement, exploring strategies for building lasting relationships, creating impactful partnerships, and developing action plans based on YoCoJoin experience for continued engagement with local youth.

Funding Information

• Participants receive 1000 EUR per person after successful delivery of the action and based on a contract with YoCoJoin project partners (Casoris and Omroeop Tilburg respectively).

Costs Covered

• Grants are available to support participants with travel and accommodation costs borne by the participating person.

Eligibility Criteria

• Journalists working for media organisations in the European Union and EU accession countries that are interested in integrating youth-focused community journalism into their working mechanism. Selected journalists will be invited to participate in workshops held in Tilburg or Ljubljana (based on proximity and participant preferences).

Application Requirements

• Interested journalists working for media organisations must submit the following:
  • A motivation letter explaining their interest in the project
  • A profile of their organisation
  • CV
• In order to successfully participate at the immersion workshops participants are required to:
  • Be present and active during the 3 days workshop
  • Deliver a media entry about the immersion workshop experience
  • Develop and submit a short Action Plan for youth community journalism opportunities for their own media organisation
  • Number of participants is expected to be 10 in Ljubljana, Slovenia and 10 in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

For more information, visit European Commission.