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Transitions is a Prague-based media development organization with a mission of actively championing democracy, pluralism, and freedom of expression. We do this by strengthening the professionalism, independence, and impact of media and civil society organizations, with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union.
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Happy New Year from Transitions!
Did you know TOL is more than just a magazine? We wanted to update you with the latest news from our ongoing media development projects. We will not be sending this newsletter to you every month, but if you would in fact like to receive these project updates, please click here to subscribe.
Recent Events
Lace up. It’s Time for Boot Camp!
From 16-17 December, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and with supporting funds from the National Endowment for Democracy and the Transition Promotion Program of the Czech Foreign Ministry, TOL ran our Data Journalism Boot Camp 2.0 in Chisinau, Moldova. Journalists, students, interns and professionals from around Moldova congregated in the capital for two days of intensive training on data utilization for developing relevant, crucial and investigative stories. The training was a follow-up to a boot camp TOL's resident data journalism expert, Josh Boissevain, attended in November.
Paul Radu, the founder of the RISE project and Investigative Dashboard in Bucharest, led the event, joined by Crina Boros, a data journalist and investigative reporter from Thomson Reuters in London. The boot camp provided participants first-hand experience with analyzing data sets to report stories that have yet to be told and are critical to the development of a more open society.
Paul Radu discussed his "Follow the Money" journalism methods, which are world-renowned for exposing high-level crime and corruption scandals, such as the famous Magnitsky case. Crina Boros taught participants useful Microsoft Excel application techniques to evaluate data sets, explained how to navigate data sets, and discussed how to explore data to go in depth for original stories.
Why Moldova? Moldova’s unique political situation in the past decade—constantly going back and forth between West-facing and East-facing agendas—has led international NGOs and development organizations to invest in the creation and publication of credible online data sets. The goal of this e-government initiative is to increase transparency and decrease corruption.
Though the new e-government culture brings about much potential for change, TOL noticed that while e-data sets were piling up, many journalists were not using them and were not aware of how data can be mined for stories that go beyond press release-reliant journalism. In response to the gap, TOL organized the boot camp to acquaint participants with concepts of investigative and data journalism in the digital age. The training not only equipped participants with a technical tool kit and hands-on practice, but it also inspired them with the message that fighting corruption is not impossible and tangible methods do indeed exist for investigative and innovative reporting.
Getting up to Speed on TOL's Civic Activist Platform
From 11 to 14 December, TOL hosted a meeting to train key staff in using a soon-to-be launched, online learning platform for civil society organizations and individual activists.
Along with project staff from TOL, representatives of implementing partner organizations from Azerbaijan, Moldova, Georgia and the United States attended the four-day gathering. Six other organizations from Central and Eastern Europe are participating in the project as resource partners. The project is co-funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), the International Visegrad Fund, and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The goal of the project is to provide a space where activists can increase their understanding of the power of new media communications and learn innovative target outreach tactics. The platform will feature a categorized archive of existing online learning resources, and it will also serve as a live networking and peer-to-peer support system for activists working in the fields of transparency, anti-corruption, human rights, and numerous other civil society issues. The platform is expected to feature 25 core initial resources by the end of 2014 and 300 individual users who have taken advantage of at least one resource.
At the meeting, Chris Neu, a representative from TOL’s U.S. implementing partner, TechChange, walked participants from Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Czech Republic through the platform’s basic design and functions. TOL plans to continue reaching out through our extensive network of collaborators to increase contribution to and utilization of the platform.
Chris shared a few words with us about working with TOL and his experience in Prague:
"We cherish the partnership we've developed over the past year with TOL. For someone who works in online learning, this was a solid reminder of how valuable in-person exchanges can be and how much further we have to go to come close to replicating the value of simply being there. I hope that the training is useful for your team (and applicable across online learning in general, not just our platform)."
"As for the high health cost of Czech food: totally and utterly worth it. I will miss the people, architecture, metro and more from Prague, but I suspect it is the goulash that will keep me coming back."
Kicking Off TOL's Reporting Europe Online Learning Course
On 14 November, Transitions hosted 20 Czech students and young journalists in Prague to kick off our intensive educational program designed to equip participants with the tools to write effectively on European affairs and the European Union.
TOL’s executive director, Jeremy Druker, was joined by the course’s instructors, Gareth Harding and Kateřina Šafaříková, to introduce the course outline and acquaint participants with the e-learning platform they will be using throughout the two-month program. Gareth Harding is Clear Europe’s managing director and an award-winning Brussels-based writer, journalism professor and media trainer. Kateřina Šafaříková is an editor of Česká Pozice and one of the leading Czech journalists writing on the EU, having served five years as Brussels correspondent for Lidove noviny.
After the welcome program and e-learning platform introduction, the instructors conducted interactive sessions about Czech-EU reporting issues and EU information sources. Participants were able to ask questions, share ideas and experiences, and make suggestions throughout the kick-off meeting.
"I have been incredibly impressed by the participants in the Reporting Europe online class I am teaching. Their knowledge of EU affairs is outstanding and their participation in discussions—whether at the Prague kick-off meeting or online—has been lively. Looking forward to their study trip to Brussels in late January," Gareth said.
Participation in the course is free for all of the accepted participants and includes two meetings in Prague, a study trip to Brussels, and the online learning component. For two months, TOL will be engaging with students on topics such as critical analysis and communication about EU issues and confidence-building to report on EU matters clearly, quickly, and succinctly.
Visits to Vilnius: Transitions Represented at Freedom House Event and Civil Society Conference in the Lithuanian Capital
With Ukraine in turmoil over President Viktor Yanukovych’s rejection of the EU’s overtures, the Eastern Partnership (EaP) November summit in Vilnius drew most of the international media’s attention. But on the sidelines, a number of important events were taking place, several of them designed to keep human rights issues front and center of any debate on future cooperation with the EaP countries.
TOL’s executive director, Jeremy Druker, took part in a one-day Freedom House event on 18 November, “The Eastern Partnership: Can Human Rights, Values, and Norms Compete with Geopolitics?” Jeremy moderated a panel about Russia, the Eurasian Union, and the future of the EaP that featured several members of the European Parliament (including former Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis), the U.S. ambassador in Lithuania, and civil society actors. “The upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit is a chance to demonstrate that the EU is value-based at the same time that it is interest driven - and double down on a commitment to human rights and democracy,” said Susan Corke, director for Eurasia programs at Freedom House, who also sat on the panel.
Next up was a large civil society conference that overlapped with the summit, held on 27–29 November, again in Vilnius. An official event of the Lithuanian EU Presidency, the event gathered over 400 civil society leaders from the Eastern Partnership countries and the European Union, regional and transatlantic NGOs, think tanks, and donors, as well as top politicians and a healthy media contingent, including a very busy group from Ukraine.
“It was gratifying for TOL to be invited to such an event, recognizing the impact we’ve made with our media coverage and programs in the EaP countries,” Jeremy said. “At the same time it is also places a great responsibility on us to continue writing about the repression of various civil society actors that still, unfortunately, takes place throughout the region, as well as training local journalists to report on these topics themselves.”
Featured Content
Transitions Online (www.tol.org) often showcases the work produced through our grant programs. Some of the highlights from December and January include the following stories:
Kosovo’s New Golden Age?
Political ally and major investor Turkey is taking a hand in writing history textbooks, and not all Kosovans are happy about it.
6 December 2013
In Defense of Khudoni
The massive dam planned for western Georgia will destroy homes, but it is the best solution to the country’s up-and-down energy supply.
17 January 2014
Hands That Make History
An outpost in northern Tajikistan keeps alive the country’s tradition of exquisite woodwork.
By Muhaiyo Nozimova
24 January 2014
Promoting the use of new media and social media among journalists, civil society organizations, and young people.
Russia
Improving the quality of environmental investigative journalism while increasing the impact of the environmental movement in Russia.
Education Reporting
Using distance learning courses, workshops, and other resources to improve reporting on education-related topics.
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