The top event of the current summer for me, the one which impressed and marked me and moreover cast a spell on me, is the one week session organized by the College of Europe at the Natolin Campus in Warsaw. After having successfully completed an online course on Journalistic Craft for EU Neighbourhood including such topics: identifying disinformation, false news; raising awareness, how to monetize content, how to search and find financial sources for campaigns; lobbying; aggressive news, victimization, bullying, hate speech vs peace journalism, multimedia tools, value-based reporting, conflict-sensitive reporting etc., I have been rated the 5th from my country belonging to the East EU Block. I haven’t been selected for the first tour of sessions, so that I cast the idea of the contest in the back-thought. To my utter astonishment, I have passed for a second round of training and workshops – fantastic!!!
I joined the team one day later, landing in a very tight and arch-full schedule. As I belonged to the East EU Neighbourhood countries: Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, plus the South block: Jordan, Morocco, Alger, Turkey – we were extremely diverse in what regards culture, religion, customs, background – what we had in common was certainly the thing that consolidated us as a truth squad. This truth is a journalistic principle and a personal value that is endorsed by all those present at Natolin, but for which different doses of courage and intellect and vigilance should be applied so as to preach and practice it with a clean conscience in those diverse points of the globe. There were we, the ex-USSR block, who have passed through the long period of dependence which crippled the free-thinking capacity, trust & confidence; credibility & openness. Now we, the Moldovan are less impacted by the Russian propaganda machine, we have come on the verge of the red demarcation line of accession to the EU; in 2014 Moldova and Georgia were granted a free-visa regime. As for the Ukrainian representatives, they were raging about the Donbass still active conflict, Crimea and all; the level of Russophobia was toxic and irrationally explosive, which we silently empathized with. The South block countries had other reasons and targets for hate, disapproval, and watchdogging.
Briefly, all and every one of us has come to that forum with an open agenda but also a hidden one. The event was educational in form – so that professional development was the main goal sought: training and workshops followed by questions and answers, eventually debates, were strictly included in the event programme. Personal development, visiting two European capitals, getting in contact with other extremely interesting, intelligent and creative people - were the other value-added benefits and privilege and our greatest pleasure!!!
Engaging in games and selfies, driven by curiosity and “documentation”, sharing and the FB lives – I have had interesting side glimpses from participants which lead to deep insights. Having the footage, the filmed moments from the gadget in the hand of a nice young Muslim does not make that more ambivalent, or less credible; just like the probability of a middle-aged blue-eyed fair skin European --less probable to commit a terror act.
TAKE-AWAYSThe take-aways include in addition to the certificate of achievement, the entitlement for the perseverance to chase the truth and identify it in the narration and discourse, deconspire the half-truth and demask the complete lies.
THE JOURNEY
The trip to and fro the event was thrilling, mostly because of the connections that I had to make at the start of the trip at the Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, with one hour in between to run through the maze of the airport and find my departure point for passports and tickets verification, thereafter the gate with the body scanning and luggage checking procedures. Those procedures were, I must admit – strict, rigid even, I had to "use" = “clear/throw away” my 150g shower gel. The "F. Dostoyevskii" aircraft (the name of the plane) to Sheremetyevo was OK!!!
The Natolin Campus through my room window, a bridge with lions in the splendid Natolin Campus natural reservation, nearby the palace
Workshop with Łukasz Dobromirski on Intercultural Interchange, a psychologist- psychotherapist by formation - extremely interesting and engaging group work, then presentation:
The CHALLENGING LECTURE ON DISINFORMATION IN THE MEDIA with Adam LELONEK. The main idea is that in order to escape or reduce the information bubble in which we comply to rest by enabling the search motors and their algorithms to target us and provide us with information that corresponds to our views, we need to challenge ourselves by breaking the regular cycle of activities, routine actions; and the circle of friends. We should allow ourselves to leave the comfort zone meet different people, listen to opposed views, educated ourselves more!!! The presentation, research is made on the basis of fallacies and errors that are discussed in social psychology. I loved that!!!
BERLIN, outside the AXEL SPRINGER building and inside the BILD in a studio where we spent the entire day in live presentations with the editor-in-chief Chris Simon at BILD and other famous and talented investigative reporters. That is most probably not a direct meaning slogan but a banter, a good joke!!!
In the first picture we saw with our own eyes the continuous 24h activity of the BILD newsroom. In the second, taken from the net - we see the editor-in-chief at BULD Chris SIMON, whom we had the honour to meet with a captivating presentation.
Adam LelonekAdam L
A BAD HAIR DAY on 29.08.2019
NATOLIN CAMPUS HALL
MY ROOM IN THE CAMPUS
BERLIN HOTEL ROOM, probably nothing curious, except for the fact that I lost a half of the video, which was the most interesting, and about which I was questioned by my son, when I was retelling him about my journey impressions.
A group photo at Natolin on 28.08.2019 after the final ceremony, Konrad Dziurdzia the group manager is present the third from right.
The impressions from the study trip to Berlin on 29 are also very vivid. The first picture in the post is out getting on the bombarder plane from the Warsaw Chopin Airport to Tegel Airport Belin.
The return from the event was from Berlin, via Vienna (connection) to Chishinau Airport. The journey made us extremely anxious (three Moldovans) because the flight from Berlin to Vienna was delayed by 25 minutes!!! which left us exactly half an hour to orient ourselves in the extended labyrinth of the airport, find our way to the needed gate, verify the documents and tickets, check-in and all in one be on time! We were so, (I was retrieved again my shower gel and body cream, (used them by throwing) by the extremely zealous customs officers-girls), the departure this time on the other side of Berlin - (Vienna) was sharp on time (!!!) (we counted on a short delay here, so as to compensate our time, because of their fault) and we returned uneventfully. On the reverse of the Juxtopose is jokingly included the famous infographic representing the Napoleon Bonaparte march to (triumphantly) Russia, and fro - in a decimated, diminished number, exhausted, frozen, defeated. 👀💀❤ We merely arrived back.
I don't really know what this post mostly looks like, but the debrief with the boss from Poland was immediately on the next day after arrival, so that this is not a report, just a bouquet of impressions that need to be shared.
That was a wonderful experience. My greatest fear was that I would look inadequate because of the age discrepancy, there would probably be only very young and mouthed, gadget-obsessed "citizen journalists". My pleasure was to discover that my two copatriots were one Ph Dr, and the young man also a doctorate researcher, plus the participants from Ukraine - two university lecturers like us and Ph Drs, a researcher young woman and a really tough journalist; besides there was another doctorate student from Morocco and Alger. I was impressed and consolidated in my belief that my social activism in the form of blogging which I have practiced for a quite long time - makes sense, this is something necessary, not just my private passion.
A relevant photo taken by another participant, with a side view of the remnants of the Berlin wall, while crossing the city in our bus.
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