The European Union delegation in Moscow has a programme to promote stronger cultural ties between Russia and the European Union. As part of that programme they have agreed to support a journalism programme that brings together young Russian journalists with other journalists from different parts of Europe in a series of activities and events.

The Dublin Summer school programme falls under this programme as an initiative to provide Russian and EU journalists with an opportunity to network, to learn and to practice their journalism on key issues pertinent to the EU.

The objectives of the course are:

• To build strong relations between EU and Russian journalists through a common reporting programme and experience
• To promote a reporting opportunity to Russian journalists on crucial issues to do with the European Union. In this case it will include the issues around Ireland’s relationship with the EU and with the UK and the impact of BREXIT
• To provide an insight into the current debate in Ireland on modern journalism and the future of journalism. This would include how the digital revolution is impacting on the economics of sustainable media and the professional practice of journalism.
• To provide a strong learning environment for the journalists to develop their knowledge and generate news for their media in Russia and other locations.

The programme will be designed to provide a series of visits, talks and debates with leading experts in the fields of politics, journalism, the EU, and Irish / Russian relations. Each morning will brief the students on the topics they will be addressing and the people they will be meeting and to help plan the stories and angles they will produce and report on. Sufficient time will be provided for them to finalise their news productions at the end of each day. Each morning the journalists will be paired off with a colleague from a different country to work in teams and joint production. They will have opportunities to both report on the day’s themes and also to develop personal reporting projects that they want to achieve over the course of the week. To do this a Dublin based journalism tutor should be engaged to guide them through the reporting objectives and tasks of the week and assist them in their research, interviews etc…

While the summer school will produce considerable journalistic output in Russia and in the other countries from which journalists are selected, over the long term it will develop and cement relations between journalists across borders to be able to co-operate closer on future reporting projects. It will inform journalists of the nature of the European Union, expose them to debates on the current EU politics and its future and provide them with sources and experts who they can approach in future when reporting EU stories.

Key themes proposed include:

• Day One: Dublin and Ireland history, culture and geo political place in the world
• Day Two: Reporting Irish Politics: The Republic, Northern Ireland, the conflict and the Peace Process.
• Day Three: Irish Journalism: The economic and professional impact of the digital work place on journalism and its future.
• Day Four (Friday 14th): Ireland, the European Union and BREXIT.
• Day Five (Saturday 15th): Russia and Ireland: exploring modern links with Ireland’s Russian speaking community / getting into the street to interview the public on views on EU, Russia, etc… (or a fee day).

Young European journalists (under 30 years old) interested are invited to send their C-V to the Vice-President of the EFJ (travel and accommodation will be covered by the EU): Nadezda Azhgikhina, nazhgikhina (at) gmail (dot) com. Deadline for applications: 19th June, 2017.