Twelve Fellows From Twelve Countries Bring Intajour To Life
They are natives of Egypt, Nepal, Ghana, Syria, Moldova, Thailand, China, Liberia, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, Armenia and Ukraine. They have set up independent news websites in their home countries. They have used social media to cover radical changes in their countries. They have created journalist networks spanning continents. They have tackled uncomfortable topics and demanded press freedom. Now they are sitting around a table in order to learn together, share ideas and hone their journalistic skills. Twelve journalistic talents – quite deliberately six women and six men - from twelve countries around the world began their Fellowships at the International Academy of Journalism (Intajour) on Monday and at the same time initiated the Academy’s real work.
"As of today, a project whose establishment we announced one year ago during Bertelsmann’s 175th anniversary celebrations has become a reality," said Ostrowski, recalling the idea and the beginnings of the institution he initiated. As the founder, he personally welcomed the first Fellows at Intajour’s head office in Hamburg on Monday evening and chatted with the people who will now bring Intajour to life and give it a face. The Fellows arrived in Hamburg on Saturday. Intajour had received great support from the German foreign office and the relevant embassies with the immigration formalities. On Sunday, work began in Intajour’s rooms in Hamburg’s Stubbenhuk with a presentation about Intajour and the program, getting to know each other, advice about staying in Germany, and finally a welcome dinner with the Intajour team and Thorsten Strauß, head of Bertelsmann Corporate Communications.
On Monday night, Ostrowski once more underlined the meaning and purpose of the Academy to the Fellows, their trainers and Intajour Director Werner Eggert: "In this way, Bertelsmann aims to make a contribution to the future of quality journalism in the digital age." He said both he and the company were convinced that "a lively and active free press requires well-trained, globally networked journalists with high standards of journalistic quality and responsibility" – women and men like the twelve Fellows.
Ostrowski praised the Fellows’ for their journalistic commitment which not only won him over, but most importantly Intajour’s Journalistic Advisory Board, which was jointly responsible for the selection with the Director. The Advisory Board is primarily composed of some of Germany’s foremost editors-in-chief and journalism instructors. They include Peter Kloeppel (RTL), Georg Mascolo (Spiegel) and Thomas Osterkorn (Stern), the heads of the RTL School of Journalism and Henri Nannen School; Leonhard Ottinger and Andreas Wolfers; as well as Bertelsmann’s head of Corporate Communications, Thorsten Strauß. Even during this first year of the Academy, the Advisory Board was spoiled for choice as more than 400 journalistic talents applied for a Fellowship online with comprehensive dossiers.
The Advisory Board finally selected Rehab Abd Almohsen (29) from Egypt, Krishna Prasad Acharay (33) from Nepal, Daniel Akwasi Aforo (27) from Ghana, Alia Al-Turki Rabeo (27) from Syria, Ludmila Boghenanu (28) from Moldova, Mutita Chuachang (29) from Thailand, Yongbin Fang (32) from China, Fatoumata Nabie Fofana (27) from Liberia, Carlos Roberto Fonseca (29) from Nicaragua, Columbus Mavhunga (33) from Zimbabwe, Gayane Mirzoyan (30) from Armenia and Oleg Shynkarenko (35) from Ukraine.
Before talking with each of the Fellows individually, Ostrowski expressed the wish that the Intajour Fellowship would be “of great personal and professional benefit" to all of them. Eggert and the Intajour team have laid the groundwork for this. Over the next three weeks in Hamburg, the Fellows can expect a packed timetable of full-day lessons during the first of a total of three attendance phases. The curriculum kicks off on Monday with instruction on how to establish compelling blogs. Tuesday focuses on the smart use of search engines for research and writing. Over the next few days, the focus is on methods of digital journalism, including a basic course on Internet functionality, lessons on in-depth online research and a course for editing photos and Web publishing. Internet security and Web design are also among the topics covered.
The focus of the first attendance phase is on online journalistic practice and tools. Werner Eggert tells BENET: "On the one hand, we want to underline Intajour’s character as an online academy in this way, which will become especially evident in the intensive e-learning phases between the attendance phases.” Secondly, the Intajour Director said the Academy was founded on the conviction that the new digital options for research and publication will open up entirely new possibilities in journalism, which are best tapped by well-trained people. He said that because old journalistic principles, techniques, craftsmanship and attitudes are not to be thrown overboard with these new ways of doing things, Intajour’s program also focuses on questions of media ethics, media freedom and journalistic responsibility.
In addition to lecturers with proven expertise, the Fellows will have top journalists and Bertelsmann Group managers available for discussions and exchanging ideas during their time in Hamburg. They include Hans-Hermann Klare, Oliver Schr ö m and Katja Gloger from "Stern", J ü rgen Sch ä fer, Ruth Eichhorn and Martin Meister from the "Geo" editorial team, RTL's chief reporter Antonia Rados, Rick Nieman of RTL Nederland, Stefan Postler, head of Medienfabrik G ü tersloh, Bertelsmann's communications chief Thorsten Strauß and Helen M ü ller, head of Bertelsmann's corporate archives. The farewell dinner for the Fellows will be attended by Torsten-J ö rn Klein, President of Gruner + Jahr International
Torsten-Jörn Klein, Klaus Eck (Random House), Oliver Herrgesell and Hans Mahr (both RTL Group), Stefan Postler (Arvato), and Thorsten Strauß (Bertelsmann AG) are on the Intajour Board of Trustees. The tasks of the Academy’s second important advisory body include discussing the basic orientation and financing of Intajour with management. It also works with representatives from all divisions to anchor the fledgling International Academy of Journalism in Bertelsmann. "Working with the trustees and Advisory Board is a real asset to Intajour," says Eggert. "We benefit from integration in the Bertelsmann Group as well as from the bodies’ journalistic expertise, and are delighted that they are providing such positive and constructive support to Intajour."
