Hostwriter and its Armenian partner Youth Alliance via Networking offer ten journalists the chance to cover European topics from a cross-border perspective. With elections coming up in several European countries, overcoming national bias and prejudice is crucial to serve a well informed civil society.
Journalism underscores a well informed public and lays the foundation for mature debate. Cross-border journalism is a tool to counteract increased polarization and a thickening of echo chamber walls. The possibility to work collaboratively will result in good reporting and a better world press that is more equipped to deal with the issues of today.
To pay tribute to the ancient Athenian democracy where the Agora was the main place for exchange and debate, the program is called “The Agora Project”.
After an application and assessment process, the program will start with a kick-off workshop in Yerevan in late March 2017, a week before Armenia holds its national elections. There the participants’ story ideas and possibilities for collaborative research will be discussed. There will also be sessions on debate, hate speech and polarization in democratic societies and room to discuss the role of the media around these issues. After the workshop the participants will continue to exchange ideas and feedback and share their research through an online newsroom. The journalists will publish their pieces in their home countries.

You can apply here: hostwriter.org