Organized by the World Bank Institute, the Forum will give young civil society leaders, musicians, and journalists, many of whom come from fragile states, a space to exchange their experiences with fighting corruption through reforms.

Participating groups have successfully lobbied access to information legislation, launched awareness raising campaigns and conducted diagnostic governance assessments. At the Forum, they will also strengthen a global youth anti-corruption network to continue collaboration after the event.

The Forum uses music and ICT as two innovative approaches that appeal to young people. Music can help break the taboo on corruption that persists in many countries. Musicians from Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Columbia produced several original songs for this event.

Sessions will include Access to Information, Procurement Watch, the use of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) for better governance, and strategic communication.

The 2010 Forum is organized with support from the Government of Belgium, Jeunesse Musicale International, and the European Journalism Center.

WHEN: May 26-28, 2010
All events at the Forum are open to journalists, including:
- Dialogue on culture & development, May 26, 14:00-15:00.
- Live concert, May 26, 21:00-midnight.
- Musical performances and closing session, May 28, 15:30-17:00

(Please see detailed agenda for all speakers and sessions)

Participants are available for interviews

WHERE: “Beursschouwburg” (also called Beurs),
Rue A. Ortsstraat 20-28, Brussels, Belgium

TO REGISTER: Please send a confirmation e-mail with your name and affiliation to
Olivia Riera, oriera@worldbank.org or call her at 32-2-552-0044 no later than Monday, May 24, 2010.

For more information on the Forum, please visit Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network www.voices-against-corruption.org

The event will take place on Monday 26 April at 10:45 and will be held at Residence Palace - International Press Centre (Room Salon, ground floor) Rue de la Loi 155 - Bloc C - 1040 Brussels.

Written by some of the leading experts on lobbying transparency in Europe, the book introduces readers to the world of lobbying in Brussels and critiques the growing influence of corporate lobbyists over EU decision-making.

It analyses key factors behind excessive industry influence over EU policy-making and include concrete proposals for addressing this democratic imbalance, including demands for the way forward – which will be presented at the launch.

The book is launched as Maroš Šefčovič, the new Commissioner in charge of transparency and ethics issues, is about to start negotiations with the European Parliament on creating a joint lobby register. Earlier this year Šefčovič announced that he would reform the Commission’s conflicts of interest rules. The time is clearly ripe for reform.

Speakers at the launch will include:

• Isabelle Durant, Vice President of the European Parliament, Member of the Greens / European Free Alliance, Member of the Inter-Institutional Working Group for a joint register between the Commission and the Parliament for a joint lobby register

• Olivier Hoedeman, research coordinator of Corporate Europe Observatory

• Will Dinan, Strathclyde University, researcher for Spinwatch and member of ALTER-EU Steering Committee

Monday 26 April, 10:45
Residence Palace - International Press Centre (Room Salon, ground floor)
Rue de la Loi 155 - Bloc C - 1040 Brussels
 

The Award Jury, consisting of following media experts, will now select the nominees and announce the short-listed candidates around April 20th.

On May 6th all jury members will meet in Antwerp for the final jury round and to announce the winners of this year’s Concentra Award and the Breaking News Award.

The winners and all other short-listed items will shortly be announced on The Concentra website, where you can also have access to all nominated and winning items of the previous editions. 

Established in 2004, the Concentra Award for outstanding video journalism is the world’s leading annual VJ prize. The award aims to highlight and promote video journalism with the aim of encouraging journalists to film and edit their own work. The award comes with 10.000 euro in prize money.

In an amendment adopted after a lively debate, the API council was asked to investigate the possibility of working towards wider use of the embargo system for written information. Journalists also insisted on asking the European Commission to provide access for the accredited press to all written procedure decisions as soon as these are taken.

“This provides us with a clear mandate. For API, the issue of an appropriate communication strategy can only consist in having genuine and maximum access to unfiltered information. This is essential for Brussels based media to fulfil their task of providing independent quality journalism,” API Chairman Lorenzo Consoli said after the meeting.

In a second resolution, also adopted unanimously, journalists supported the idea of a special statute for media correspondents accredited to the European institutions. This should be approved by both Belgian and EU authorities and would take due account of the fact that while journalists have their residence and main centre of work in Brussels, their presence in Belgium is primarily due to the location of international institutions in the Belgian capital.

In particular, on the basis of this statute a new permanent pass should be introduced which would provide for appropriate access to the buildings and meetings of EU institutions, including the European Council which is likely to meet more frequently in the near future. The new statute should provide satisfactory solutions for the long standing issues of double taxation and social security in Belgium. These have become a major obstacle and nuisance for the work of many foreign correspondents in Belgium.

During the meeting, journalists mandated API to investigate with European institutions and national governments ways of ensuring journalists’ children have access to appropriate educational possibilities in their own language in Brussels.

Finally, the API council took note of a contribution from two French colleagues calling for the agreement on the bilingual language regime reached in 1994 between the European Commission and API on the use of French and English in the press room to be fully respected.

In future, API is determined to organize its own press conferences, expert meetings and background briefings to promote a more democratic media landscape in Brussels.”

Here enclosed please find an invitation to attend a briefing for journalists who have arrived in Brussels in the last few months.

The briefing will be held tomorrow and it will last from 8.45 to 16.30

We hope you can attend. If you want to attend please confirm your participation at the following number +32 2 235 2252 or by mail.
You’ll be our guest also for a networking sandwich lunch in which you can meet some experts in Trade Union and taxation issues. During the briefing you will meet the spokespeople and press officers of the main EU institutions and NATO and you will also be able to attend API’s General Assembly which will be held tomorrow morning from 11h to 13h.

In case you know newly arrived journalists, please pass this invitation to them.

We hope to see you tomorrow.

Newcomers’ briefing final programme

Kind regards,

Cristina Romero
J@YS Coordinator

Their new office contact details are the following:

International News Safety Institute
Thomson Reuters Foundation (5th floor)
The Thomson Reuters Building
30 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London E14 5EP
UK

Tel: +44 20 7542 1063
Fax: +44 20 7542 8599
Email: info@newssafety.org

Yoletta Nyange is Researcher.
Email: yoletta.nyange@newssafety.org
Tel: +44 20 7542 1063

Director Rodney Pinder’s contact details are unchanged:
Mobile: +44 7734 709267
Email: rodney.pinder@newssafety.org

For the time being, Adrien Collin will continue to handle financial matters such
as membership subscriptions, invoicing etc from Brussels. Email
adrien.collin@newssafety.org
The International News Safety Institute (INSI) is a unique coalition of news organisations, journalist support groups and individuals exclusively dedicated to the safety of news media staff working in dangerous environments.

It is a not-for-profit charity supported entirely by contributions from members, who, alarmed by the rising death toll around the world, decided to act.

In response to a joint initiative by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world’s biggest journalists’ group, and the International Press Institute (IPI), humanitarian organisations and individuals gathered in Brussels in November 2002.

INSI’s purpose is to create a global safety network of advice and assistance to journalists and other news gatherers, who may face danger covering the news on international assignment or in their own countries.

It raises funds to provide safety training free of charge to journalists in need around the world who are unable to afford their own. It promotes measures to improve safety understanding among news organisations, militaries, governments and international bodies.

Members of the Association and journalists accredited in Brussels are invited to take part in a debate on the future of journalism and the working conditions of journalists based in Brussels organised within the framework of an Extraordinary General Meeting Called by the API/ IPA Council.

This meeting will take place on;

All of you are cordially invited to attend

Concerned by the direction taken by the communication and information policies of the European institutions and in particular by the European Commission whose negative effects on the presence of the media in Brussels have been reinforced by the economic crisis, the IPA considers an urgent taking stock and a broad debate are imperative.

With this aim, it has been decided by the representatives of foreign journalist based in Brussels to organise this meeting in order to consult and to help formulate their view. Resolutions will be submitted to the meeting to this end. A substantial participation of journalists will be appreciated by them.

The meeting should also enable focussing on the subject of problems concerning the residence conditions of foreign journalists in the host country. Despite the numerous presence of journalists from other European countries, fiscal and social security problems have never found a satisfactory solution. The absence of clarification despite the repeated requests by journalists, has often given rise to barely understandable measures and attitudes by the officials of the relevant administrations.

In other respects the absence of consistency among the arrangements outdated by the evolution taking place within the framework of the European construction has as a consequence given rise to numerous, useless measures for new journalists. API/IPA considers that on this level also taking stock by Belgium is also essential, “host country” of the institutions.

Proposed Agenda

• Communication and information policies of the European institutions and in particular the Commission. Vote on a resolution on the issue.
• Conditions regarding work and residence of journalists based in Brussels Vote on a resolution on the issue.
• Improvement of contacts and collaboration at the heart of the press corps based in Brussels.

API/IPA Council

The briefing will focus on subjects relevant to journalists who are new to Brussels and the EU-reporting scene, as well as journalists covering issues of general interest to all media.

The programme will cover topics as diverse as EU information sources and Belgian taxation/social security and schooling system.

The venue is the International Press Centre, Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, Brussels.

Please let us know BY THE 2ND OF NOVEMBER  whether you or a colleague would like to take part in the briefing. (RSVP to this email address: info@brusselsreporter.eu)

Please address your CV and samples of your work to Mrs. Daria Gissot (dgladkaia@skynet.be). You can also call: + 32. 488. 411. 914

Internews’ Earth Journalism Awards encourage high-quality local climate change coverage leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, 7-18 December 2009 in Copenhagen (COP15). An independent international jury will select the Earth Journalism Award winners, who will be invited to participate in capacity-building and reporting activities at COP15, and to receive one of the following awards:

·         Negotiation  Award

·         Human Voices Award

·         Climate Change and Energy Award

·         Adaptation Award

·         Forests Award

·         Climate Change and Nature Award

·         Regional Award

·         Global Public Award

·         MTV Youth Award

Since the announcement of the awards at the G8 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Siracusa (Italy), close to 300 registrations have already been received through the EJA online platform, coming from 100 countries. Partners and sponsors of the EJA include the COP15 host country, Government of Denmark, MTV International, the World Bank, the Italian Ministry of Environment and the Protection of Territory and Sea, the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, the Edgerton Family Foundation & Flip Video Spotlight.

If you would like more information, please contact Agathe Dalisson (agathe@internews.fr) or Mark Harvey (mharvey@internews.fr)

The EMAJ 2009 is a high-quality training course on Journalism and Intercultural Dialogue taking place in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) on October 5-16, 2009. This year’s iteration of the Academy focuses on the challenges posed by global migration.

Costs related to the event (including travels, accommodation and meals) will be covered.

For more information on the EMAJ 2009, please visit our website:

www.emaj2009.org

In case of any further question, please do not hesitate to contact us any
time at:

info@emaj2009.org