FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Journalism for Future Challenges
Question: Are participants required to attend all the sessions happening on May 5-May 9; August 14-16; and November 24-28?
Answer: Yes. Because the program is grant-funded, all participants must be present at all the planned sessions.
Question: Where will the program occur?
Answer: It will be held in Riga, Latvia, a beautiful city of nearly 700,000 inhabitants. All sessions will be held at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga on Strelnieku street 4a.
Question: Who will teach the sessions?
Answer: The sessions will be taught by world-renowned experts from many newsrooms and academic institutions, including: the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga) Centre for Media Studies; the Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP); and professionals working with major news organizations such as Swedish Public Service Television and the BBC.
Question: Other than the skills I will gain, what else will the program provide?
Answer: All participants will receive a diploma, and will participate in building a lasting network of international and regional journalists, editors, and researchers—one which connects to and builds upon the network already working in the Baltic States. Participants may be invited to future summer schools with the possibility to get all or part of the costs covered by a scholarship.
Question: Who funds this program?
Answer: All participants will be generously funded through a grant from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the Swedish support to the EU Eastern Partnership. The Eastern Partnership builds on a donation, which established The Centre for Media Studies, given by The Anne-Marie and Gustaf Ander Foundation for Media Research in Karlstad Sweden. In past years, some supplementary grants have helped covered additional costs.
Question: Will Russian translators be provided?
Answer: The working language of the program is English, and all participants must be able to follow the lectures and interact in English. However, in some cases participants may be able to request the temporary assistance of a Russian interpreter in the case that a topic is very difficult.
Question: Where will participants stay?
Answer: Participants will stay in a three star hotel not more than a five-minute walk from the program venue.
Question: Where will lunch take place?
Answer: Lunch will be served in either the SSE Riga cafeteria or at the participants' hotel.
Questions: Can you tell me more about the organizers, the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga) Centre for Media Studies and the Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)?
Answers: For detailed information Please visit the websites of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga) Centre for Media Studies at www.sseriga.edu/en/centres/media-centre and the Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project at www.occrp.org
Questions: Has this program occurred in past years?
Answers: In 2012 and 2013, The Centre for Media Studies held a summer school covering similar themes and others. The program now has three parallel seminars—this year, the program is much deeper and much longer, and focuses more on investigative reporting.
We look forward to receiving your applications by February 17, 2014.