BV2016Together with students and young journalists from Belarus, Poland and Germany we want to investigate public opinion and feelings during the period of the Belarusian parliamentary election in September 2016. Therefore we will conduct the second edition of our trilateral project “Belarus Votes” from 27 August to 14 September.

We plan to equip 12 participants, four from Belarus, Germany and Poland respectively, with knowledge and experience in journalistic writing, political analysis and election observation. With the assistance of an experienced editorial board and trainers, couple with practice through several workshops and tutorials, you will write articles in English and create photo stories, as well as use new media (such as Storify, Periscope or Twitter). In small international teams, you will research various topics regarding the parliamentary election and the current situation of civil society and human rights in Belarus. Your outcome will be presented on the project website belarus-votes.lphr.org and on our Twitter channel.

The project consists of three parts, the working language is English:

    27.08.2016-31.08.2016: preparatory workshop I in Berlin (Germany)
    01.09.2016-04.09.2016: preparatory workshop II in Vilnius (Lithuania)
    05.09.2016-14.09.2016: stay in Minsk, daily editorial meeting, researching, writing and publishing articles

We offer:

    – preparation and training: journalistic workshops, discussions with experts on election observation, media and the – political situation in Belarus, civil society and human rights issues
    – an established platform for your stories
    – temporary journalistic accreditation in Belarus for the time of the election
    – full reimbursement of all travel costs, accommodation, food and visa

Participation fee for the whole programme

    for Belarusians: 25 €; for Poles: 50 €; for Germans: 75 €

We are looking for participants who:

    – are currently living in Belarus, Germany or Poland
    – have already gained some experience in journalism
    – have a very good command of English and at least basic Russian skills
    – are team players
    – are interested and/or involved in politics, human rights and/or civil society initiatives
    – are ready to participate during the whole time of the project, from 27August till 14 September

Interested in joining the project? Apply here by 20 July

The project is organized by:

Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights (Germany/Switzerland), Fundacja Wspólna Europa (Poland), StudAlliance from the University of Humanities in Vilnius (Lithuania) & EOTP – Election Observation in Theory and Practice (Belarus)

The project is funded by:
Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung) & The German Marshall Fund of the United States