The Student Journalist Programme gets under way
Student Jounalists who are they?
Amongst the swarm of international media professionals who will be covering the 64th Annual UN Department of Public Information (DPI) Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Conference in Bonn will be 19 student journalists from around the world who have excelled in their university journalism programs, distinguished themselves amongst their peers, and demonstrated a passion for the Conference’s dual themes. The group was selected via a competitive application process following a global call for submissions. They hail from as far away as Mauritius, South Africa, Canada and Australia. Check the Student Journalist Photo-Roster.
What will they do in Bonn?
In what has become an annual tradition, the DPI will welcome this group of budding journalists to report on all aspects of the Conference, including press conferences, workshops, presentations, and meetings with NGOs from their home countries. The group will begun its assignment by undertaking a pre-conference workshop, meeting senior United Nations and DPI officials, Conference planning team members from the host country and those based in New York. Then, through a unique partnership with Deutsche Welle (DW), the students will participate in a workshop at headquarters in Bonn. The workshop will include a tour of the DW offices, meetings with professional reporters and editors, and an instructional session on conference coverage.
Cooperation with Deutsche Welle
Throughout the Conference the students will be teamed with DW Global Trainees, who will serve as mentors for the group. Students will be required to submit at least one story per day, in hopes that local, regional and international news outlets may publish their submissions.
Working with social media
They will also be using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to convey the Conference happenings to the rest of the world.
William D. Hunter, the Director of the Global Union and Fulbright on-campus representative at Lehigh University in the United States is Coordinator for the 2011 programme and Co-Chair of the media sub-Committee of the Conference. He says, “I can't wait to work with these enthusiastic, committed and inspiring young people.”
Student Reports
As the students get ready to come to Bonn, many have put together examples of their work on sustainable development and volunteerism for you to explore. Look out for their coverage of the Conference both on this website and the NGO blog.