Annual Congress of FEJS, May 2014, Cologne

 

The Forum for European Journalism Students kindly invites you to the 2014 Annual Congress (AC) in Cologne, Germany. It will take place from the 1^st to the 6^th of May and will be hosted by FEJS Germany e.V.

The event is aimed at European students of journalism, media and communication, as well as young professionals. The purpose of FEJS is to create a network and platform for young journalists to meet, discuss and learn.

The topic of this year’s AC is “The Future of journalism in Europe”.

It is loosely divided into the following aspects:

1)   Economics: Are there new ways for freelancers to sell their product and how can journalism be financed through the Internet?

à Example: Crowdfunding

2)   Technology: Are there new ways of distribution? How can journalists sell themselves as a brand and promote their product?

à Example: Social Media

3)   Content: What about new types of journalism and what is the future of print in general? à Example: Data journalism

With Twitter, Facebook and ever growing numbers of blogs opinion is everywhere. News are being spread through big screens in metro stations and push-alert on Smartphones. The process of information is constant. With this AC with we want to discuss how journalists are able to dig through that jungle of information – and informants – to separate themselves from citizen journalism.

Maybe you’re asking yourself: “Do we need to?” That’s another question we would like to ask all of you at the AC. If you’re looking for a unique selling proposition, maybe Data journalism is the thing for you. Furthermore we want to take a look at new ways of selling your product, financing your work and distributing it to customers. Is Crowdfunding really replacing employers? Are newspapers and print products already ‘Old School’? All in all we are going to put emphasis on discussion and exchange at this AC.

CONTINUE TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR PROGRAMME!

01.05. Thursday:  This is usually the day for arrival. In the evening each country’s delegation will present itself to the other participants. ATTENTION: This day is an official holiday in Germany. That means public transport might be running the same way as Sundays, which basically means fewer times than on work days.

02.05. Friday: This day will be filled by lectures and panel discussions. There will be a city tour and a still secret excursion either on Friday or Monday.

03./04.05 Saturday/Sunday

WORKSHOP WEEKEND
We are organizing two days of workshops for you. Right now, we are working on offering the following topics. Be aware, that there still might be a change of plans:

Blog/ Going on the Ground for Café Babel
interview training
video journalism
radio journalism
photo journalism (You probably need to bring your own camera)

Once your application has been confirmed you need to tell us which workshop you would like to join. However, we cannot guarantee you your first wish. That is, because we need to split you in groups of similar size.

05.05 Monday: There will be some sort of activity and lectures as well as panel discussions in the afternoon.

06.05 Tuesday: Day of Departure L

It is pretty easy to get to Cologne. You can go by train or fly. Cologne has its own airport called Köln/Bonn.

The application process will be proceeded

–> Application Link for the FEJS AC in Cologne <—

All application forms must be filled in online. The deadline is Sunday the 23^rd of February. All applications that are received after the deadline will go directly to the waiting list. Such applicants will be informed by the Secretariat when and if they will be accepted to the Annual Congress.

Up to a hundred participants will be accepted to the AC 2014. If there are more than three applications from a single country’s school the Secretariat with the supervision of the Executive Board will decide who will have the priority to participate. The main criterion will be the date of application.

FEJS‘ bodies may also contact the official FEJS satellite or National Coordinator (if there is one in your country) to discuss upon the selection of the participants in your country. If you don’t know if there is an official FEJS satellite or National Coordinator in your country and you would like to contact him or her, don’t hesitate to ask the Secretariat (fejssec@gmail.com) for such information.

According to the decision of the FEJS General Assembly 2008, the participation fee for the event is 130 Euro. The fee covers food and lodging expenses, as well as the activities during the congress. A part of the amount of the participation fee is also a contribution to the FEJS Solidarity Fund.

At least 70 Euro of the participation fee must be obtained in advance in order to secure your place at the Annual Congress. The rest of the participation fee will be paid at the registration on the Arrival Day on the 1^st of May 2014. More details about the payment of the participation fee will be given in the Acceptance Letter once the application procedure will be over.

Every participant has to pay for his or her travel expenses. The participation fee doesn’t cover your transport to or from Cologne. If you have financial difficulties, you may apply for the financial support from the Solidarity Fund (SF). FEJS may grant you support up to seventy percent of your travel costs. Detailed information about the Solidarity Fund can be obtained from the Secretariat (fejssec@gmail.com). The deadline is Sunday the 23^rd of February. After that date no applications for the SF will be considered valid.

The applicants that will be selected to attend the Annual Congress and need a VISA to come to Utrecht must contact the Secretariat as soon as they get the Acceptance Letter.

The selection of applicants will be complete by Sunday the 2^nd of March. On that date you will know if you have been accepted to the AC 2014 and if you have applied for it, you will receive confirmation regarding your application for the Solidarity Fund. All the other applicants will go through to the waiting list and will be invited to the Congress only if a participant cancels or he or she doesn’t secure his or her place by paying the 70 Euro in advance. The advance payment must be made by Sunday the 16^th of March.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Cologne.

Kind regards from FEJS Germany e.V.,

Yours sincerely,

Annika Koenig, President of FEJS Germany e.V.