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Training for Journalists on Sustainable Energy
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| October 25-28, 2006 - Riga, Latvia The first REEEP regional training for journalists covering sustainable energy was held in Riga, Latvia, by the REC in its capacity as REEEP Regional Secretariat for Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey. The workshop was part of the series of hands-on trainings delivered by Green Horizon in partnership with the Guardian Foundation, UK, since 2003. The training provided sixteen participating journalists with skills and techniques that they can apply to improve the quality and impact of their stories and reports on sustainable energy. The course was part of REC's work as a CEE secretariat of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), managed by the Climate Change programme. Sixteen leading journalists from leading mass media outlets through the region were selected after a tough competition to take part in the training.Participants were full-time and free-lance journalists with at least three years of professional experience and a demonstrated interest in sustainable energy. Journalists working for mass media in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey participated the workshop. As part of the course journalists learned about renewable energy and energy efficiency and the REEEP. Experts from CEE countries were available for interviews, as participants to a Sustainable Cities' BISE conference on energy efficiency, which took place back-to-back with the training. On the second day journalists had an opportunity to ask questions to EU's Energy Commissioner Piebals who also spoke at the forum. The rest of the time the group spent mastering sustainable energy journalism and investigating local Latvian examples. The training was led by Pavel Antonov, editor-in-chief of Green Horizon, the quarterly magazine of the REC; with Paul Brown, former environmental correspondent for The Guardian, UK as a chief trainer; and Marek Strzelecki, a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires in Poland, as a resource trainer. The purpose of the training was to help journalists increase their understanding of sustainable energy and improve their practical skills in covering stories of this kind. During the training, the participants :
The participants performed guided journalistic research on a sustainable energy story of their choice. In order to provide participants with access to sustainable energy experts and decision makers from their countries, the training will take place back to back with the Third BISE Forum on Intelligent Energy in Municipalities in the New Member States, Candidate Countries, Western Balkans and Ukraine. By the end of the training, the journalists will be expected to produce a draft story/article using the skills and knowledge they have gained. The draft story/article will be reviewed and discussed with the trainers. Participants will be expected to publish or broadcast at least one such story or report related to sustainable energy issues in their home media after the training. Slected comments by participants from different
countries: "It will encourage me to be more efficient promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency" (Croatia, Albania). "It was interesting to hear many different opinions on sustainable energy" (BiH). "A unique opportunity for networking with other journalists" (Poland, Estonia). "A regional perspective, totally different from a purely Westerner’s perspective" (Lithuania). "Very knowledgeable and experienced trainers"
(Slovenia, Bulgaria). Inquiries into the Training for Journalists on Sustainable Energy and completed applications should be directed to: Pavel Antonov, Editor in Chief, Green
Horizon, Downloads: List of Participants (PDF 68 KB)
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REEEP sustainable energy media award Environmental Journalism in South Eastern Europe (2002 needs' assesment)
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