Link: Youthpress.org

30 young media professionals and cartoonists from 15 countries are gathering on 15-19 July in Berlin to raise awareness about the state of freedom of press and expression in Europe. The objective is to develop a strategy to defend and enhance these rights across the continent.

The event, called “Media Freedom – Ready for Action”, is organised by European Youth Press (EYP) and its German member organisation Jugendpresse. It is the third stage of the larger “Free Our Media! Media Freedom in Europe – Limited edition?” project.

The participants will get involved in training and brainstorming sessions designed to facilitate the sharing of experiences and conceptualisation of media freedom. The event will also see the participants separate into two different working groups. The journalists will create an online platform to support young media makers while the cartoonists will, supervised by experienced Human Rights artists Yorgos Konstantinou and Marcus Mazzoni, work on a comic book that tells the story of media freedom in different countries.

“We are amazed at the level of involvement and the enthusiasm our participants have shown so far. These young professionals are proving there is a lot we can do to protect journalists’ rights and freedom to research and report with accuracy and respect to the truth”, explains Anna Saraste, project coordinator at EYP.

A taste of what the final comic book will look like will be presented in a pop-up exhibition in the facilities of Zirkus Zack on Saturday 18 July, 2015. The exhibition will be open for representatives of the press and the public alike. Reporters Without Borders will also be present, showing campaign materials and pictures about press freedom from across the world.

“Media Freedom – Ready for action” is built on two preceding activities of the project programme. The first took place in Podgorica (Montenegro) in April. It invited participants to a training on the issue of Media Freedom in the European context, facilitated by European Youth Press board member Mihaela Georgescu and Senior Advisory Officer of Index on Censorship, Melody Patry. The second activity saw young journalists, who act as Media Freedom Ambassadors, holding local consultations in their respective countries and engaging their communities in a debate about the current situation of media freedom.