January 10, 2010

Paideia Launches the Paideia Journalism Pilot – a project for and by its alumni, based on professional interests

During the last week of December 2009, 13 journalists from Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Ukraine and the USA gathered in Jerusalem for a week-long study-trip to Israel and the West Bank.

Using group discussions, the aim of the trip was to explore media representations of “the other” and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the European newsrooms, and to analyze the media narratives that frame the participating journalists’ professional lives.

Throughout the trip, the journalists, of which half were Paideia alumni, met with academicians, journalists and NGOs who guided them through Israeli and Palestinian societies. The journalists studied at Yad Vashem, meeting some of the most knowledgeable speakers in the field of Holocaust and Anti-Semitism, visited Ramallah and Hebron in the West Bank and Sderot, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

As an example of how journalistic reporting influence the public discourse, the recent article on organ-theft by Swedish journalist Donald Bostrom was discussed in meetings with Israeli journalists Khaled Abu Toameh, Yair Lapid and Gideon Levy, who covered the issue in Israeli media. From the in-group discussions, the participants learnt about the devastating effects the now infamous article has had in some European countries, such as the Ukraine.

The goal of the project has been to sensitize the journalists to the question of reporting on “the other”, expose them to the nuances and complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for them to form a pan-European platform where journalistic dilemmas can be discussed in a serious way.
The result proved to be very successful and much appreciated by all the participants. Two of the participants summarize their experience with these words:

“An amazing and unforgettable experience for which I will always profit a lot, just by the vast amount of insights and stories I have to share now.”
“it gave me 1) a chance to see many interesting people among the guests. 2) New contacts from among the participants. 3) very useful, to see how other journalists think.”

The Paideia Journalism Pilot was created with the generous support of Mr. Larry Hochberg and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.