A brief description

Media21 is a Geneva-based initiative launched in 2006 by a team of international journalists to expand and improve media coverage of key global issues, including climate change, the environment, human rights, migration, peace-keeping and security, public health, trade, corporate social responsibility... It aims to train and nurture a global network of journalists with enhanced commitment, perspective, technical knowledge and official access to report effectively on the most complex challenges of our time.

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Who is behind Media21?

Media21 was launched in 2006 by InfoSud, a Geneva-based press agency and a non profit association active in Media training sessions and  journalist networks. InfoSud is a multicultural network of journalism focussing on development and global issues. Since its establishment in 1988 InfoSud has published 14,000 articles in 70 Swiss, European and African media. And since 2006, it has also posted 2500 articles in its new online journal Human Rights Tribune.

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What does global journalism mean?

Globalization is affecting the life of every inhabitant of our planet. A new journalistic approach is needed to describe and explain its consequences. It is different from international reporting that deals primarily with current affairs of various countries or regions, such as elections, conflicts, disasters, economic, social or cultural features, etc.

Global journalism reveals facts, events and situations that have an impact on different parts of the world. It highlights common challenges facing humanity and fosters effective interaction between journalists and key "global players" (political or economical leaders, diplomats, NGO activists, experts) addressing or otherwise influencing these issues. Working with a wide array of media partners, notably the Reuters Foundation, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and Ecole supérieure de Journalisme (France), Media21 seeks to facilitate more effective use of existing information resources and actors based in global hubs like Geneva. Not only can this enhance the quality and breadth of independent reporting, but also promote much-needed transparency and accountability among the players seeking to influence problems and solutions.

Finally, the development of a worldwide network of experienced and well-informed journalists, editors and producers will contribute toward forging and improving best practices in this domain.

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Areas of Activity 

1. Thematic workshops in Geneva or regional locations worldwide that bring top journalists from leading media together with top experts from multiple perspectives and disciplines for 360-degree examinations of key global issues;

2. Field visits and country missions for journalists to assess key global issues on the ground and collect material for in-depth articles and reports;

3. Media 21 web site for Media 21 alumni to post articles and reports and to serve an information platform on key global issues;   

4. Global Resource Database of multidisciplinary experts around the world who are available to Media21 alumni for briefings and mentoring on key global issues;

5. Global Journalism Network for alumni to maintain access to experts, information and ideas on key global issues and remain engaged with Media 21 activities at regional and country level. This network is available to the partners

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Which problems is Media21 addressing? 

• GLOBAL ISSUES AND ACTIVITIES NOT VISIBLE. Geneva is a platform where most of the issues of sustainable development and globalization are treated: climate, health, human rights, trade, humanitarian challenges…  Yet many of these global problems – and the efforts and obstacles to solve them – are not visible enough and not clearly understood by the public. The media don’t cover them accurately, therefore public awareness and pressure for action is lacking. The city hosts thousands of specialists too, but these information sources and their know-how are under-exposed. The Media21 Training Programme will help to bring to the front page the debates, processes, decisions, new ideas emerging from the galaxy of Geneva-based global actors.
  
  
• DEVELOPING AND EMERGING COUNTRIES badly need accurate information on the global issues that are affecting them. Few journalists from these countries – which have the most at stake in the global policies and activities produced here – have the means to visit or stay in Geneva
  
  
• MORE CHALLENGES, LESS JOURNALISTS. While global challenges that effect all nations have been coming to the fore, there has been a dramatic decrease of international correspondents and special envoys at the Geneva Palais des Nations in the past decade.
  
  
• MEDIA GOING MORE COMMERCIAL, LOCAL AND PEOPLE. Dramatic decrease of time and space devoted to international issues in the mainstream newspapers and TV, particularly in the industrialized countries.
  
  
• UN JARGON. More and more technical or institutional information given by UN agencies and other sources tend to miss more profound developments and “hot” news behind official papers.
  
  
• FRAGMENTED VISONS. Every actor, organisation or issue is hardly related with the others, which prevents a more global approach.
  
  
• MEDIA ARE ALSO AN ACTOR. The media is generally considered by the other players as a passive receiver of press releases or statements, and rarely as an interactive player and resource (i.e. communication skills, messaging, contextualising problems, accessing the public…)
  

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What are the motivations for launching Media21?

The media is also an actor endowed with social responsibility and as such should provide independent and critical coverage of planetary issues as a public service. InfoSud has a great deal of experience and professional know-how in this field, and a vast network of partners and collaborators. As a Swiss press agency, we have a “gold mine” of information and resources at hand in Geneva. It should be better exploited, which would benefit to Geneva, to Switzerland, to international actors and aid, to quality journalism, and to all those concerned about conserving our planet.

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Differences from other initiatives

• Global journalism is taught – mainly on a theoretical and academic level – at a number of universities (USA, UK, Sweden, Germany, South Africa, Australia…); a programme of global journalism is also offered by the European Union. While open to collaboration with these institutions, Media21 offers shorter, practical workshops, exposed to different and often controversial views.

• Some media organisations (i.e. Internews, BBC, Institute for War and Peace Reporting), NGOs (Aga Khan Foundation), state or UN agencies have training programmes for journalists from developing countries, mainly at a national and regional level. Media21 is or will be in touch with these initiatives, many of which expressed interest in collaborating with us.

• Media21 offers exposure to real global processes (taking place in Geneva). Led by journalists (peer-to-peer relationship), on the job, covering real problems in real situations, it leads to production of articles/broadcasts during or immediately after the sessions. Nobody else is using in that way the resources of Geneva.

• Media21 is also the first initiative of its kind in Switzerland. It offers short professional training or awareness Fellowships (one day to two weeks) mainly for experienced journalists. But it is open to collaboration with universities for the development of longer Fellowships in the future.

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Who are the Media21 partners? 

• Operational partners: provide documents, meeting space, conceptual advice, brainstorming input, contacts, resource persons,
• panellists, secretarial assistance, interns; help to organise field trips, receptions, etc.
• Media partners: They promote and disseminate the information on our training courses through their networks of journalists/trainers. Ensure publication of reports. Provide panellists
• Most of the operational contributions are made via direct meetings, phone calls or e-mail
• Financial partners: contracts, conventions, letters
  

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Who may apply?

The target group consists of experienced journalists, editors, producers from developing, emerging and industrialised countries in the domain of print, radio, TV, film, photography and new media (internet, etc.)

The aim is to have a interesting blend of professionals from different continents, cultures and levels, to enhance experience sharing and learning from each other. A good proportion can be one third from the “North”, two thirds from the “South”.

We usually include Swiss Journalists 1) to give them also a practical exposure of a global issue, 2) to create with the others a human link with Switzerland.

According to availabilities, we accept some young journalists with less experience or student journalists provided they can be integrated within the group.

A few collaborators of UN or state agencies, NGOs, universities or enterprises can be added to the participants: they will bring questions and experiences from their realities, while learning to deal with the media requirements.

Requirements: the general rule for journalists is 5 years of experience, a proven collaboration with a media, who accepts to publish or broadcast the items produced by the participant (exceptions: see above).

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Publicity and selection of participants

• Ads circulated in specialized media networks (Reuters AlertNet; IJnet; Columbia School of journalism, Pulitzer Center,
• Reliefweb, journaliste.ch, IPS, irinnews, Syfia International, etc.)
• Press conference and mailing to announce each workshop (i.e. Geneva Press Club, Association of Accredited Correspondents
• to the UN/ACANU, )
• Invitations sent to media and press agencies all over the world
• Announcement in the InfoSud websites
• The selection is made by Media21 experts and experienced journalists, sometimes with recommendation of qualified partners.
  

Criteria: professional quality and ethics of the journalist, competence on the issue itself, the balance between countries, regions, North-South, male-female, young-elder, etc. This may be found out notably by the questions asked in the application forms.

The availability of grants and the amount of total funding of the workshop may pose a limit to the number of participants. In principle, journalists from rich countries are supposed to be supported by their media, but Media21 tries to facilitate the participation of some free-lance journalists from the North (for example through foundations).

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Foothold in the region

• Most of the operational partners (NGOs, International agencies, media institutions) and specialists included in Media21 network are based in Switzerland (often in Geneva).

• Links will be developed with Swiss universities and research centres (such as NCCR Climate, Berne)

• Swiss media and journalists can be invited or associated.         

• Eventually Swiss media groups, radio and TV (SSR-SRG), as well as professional unions (impressum, Comedia) can become Media21 partners.

• A genuine partnership already exists with the Geneva Press Club, “Centre romand de formation des journalistes”, “Fondation Hirondelle” and others.

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The Media21 Team

• Daniel Wermus, Director of Media21 Project
• Edward Girardet, Director of Media21 Training Programme
• Fabrice Boulé, Director of Human Rights Trainings and Peace Journalism Programme
• Flavio Lucchesi, Coordination and Human Resources
• Hervé Guyomar, Administrator
• Promotion and Partner Networking (to come)
• Project Assistant (to come)
• Webmaster (20%)
• Journalism Network leader (newsletter+interaction) (to come)
  

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References

• Eliane Ballif, Director, Centre romand de formation des journalistes, Lausanne
• Maria Cattaui, former Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce ICC. President, Karl Popper Foundation
• Guillaume Chenevière, Medias & Society Foundation, Geneva. Former Director, Télévision suisse romande
• Paddy Coulter, Reuters Foundation, London
• William Dowell, Head, Media&Communications, CARE, former Time Magazine reporter
• Ruth Dreifuss, former President of the Swiss Confederation
• Bjorn Edlund, Director of Communications, Royal Dutch Shell
• Suren Erkman, professor, Head, Industrial Ecology Group, University of Lausanne. Director, Institute for Communication and
• Analysis of Science and Technology, Geneva
• Barbara Erskine, Erskine Communication, Geneva
• Jean Fabre, deputy Director, UNDP, Geneva
• Walter Fust, Director, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Berne
• Thérèse Gastaut, former spokeswoman of the UN Secretary-general and Director of Strategic Communications of the UN
• Department of Public Information in New York.
• Nik Gowing, main presenter, BBC World TV
• Marie Heuzé, Director, UN Information Service in Geneva
• Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, World Meterological Organization (WMO)
• Nicolas Imboden, former Swiss WTO negotiator. Director, Ideas Centre, Geneva
• Klaus Leisinger, President, Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, Basle
• Claude Martin, former President, WWF International
• Guy Mettan, Director, Geneva Press Club
• Alain Modoux, former assistant Director-General, UNESCO. Media21 project advisor, Geneva
• Geneviève Morand, Director, Rezonance.ch, Network of Individuals, Knowledge and Business, Geneva
• Yves Renard, Director ESJ International, Ecole supérieure de journalisme de Lille, France
• Jon Sawyer, Director, Pulitzer Centre for Crisis Reporting, Washington
• Mark Shapiro, Director, Center for Investigative Reporting, San Francisco
• Cornelio Sommaruga, former ICRC President. President, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
• Daniel Stauffacher, former Swiss Ambassador. President, Wisekey (Suisse) SA. President, Geneva Security Forum
• Matthias Stiefel, former President of Interpeace, Geneva
• Fred Tanner, Director, Geneva Centre for Security Policy