The Robert Bosch Stiftung and ERSTE Foundation announced on 16 January 2008 the launch of the second year of its fellowship programme for journalists in the Balkans. To be run in cooperation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, the initiative will each year give ten reporters the chance to run their own research project.

As the Balkan news media increasingly need to cover complex reform issues with regional and Europe-wide dimensions, this programme aims to foster quality reporting, regional networking among journalists and balanced coverage of topics that are central to the region as well as to the European Union.

Journalists from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, are encouraged to submit research proposals on this year’s theme – ENERGY.

It’s a topic that preoccupies officials, politicians and citizens across Europe - and arguably one of the biggest challenges facing this continent and the international community. In 2008, applicants for the Fellowship programme are invited to explore the subject of energy. But not only headline issues such as the supply of fuel, climate change and renewable resources. Entrants are also encouraged to look at human energy such as the energy of ideas, energy for change and energy for reconstruction as well as destruction.

Ten fellows will be chosen on the basis of research proposals, which should include plans for cross-border research within the Balkan region and European Union member states, drawing on examples of cooperation or the lack of such collaboration, making comparisons and highlighting know-how.

They will participate in the fellowship programme, which features an introductory seminar in Berlin, supervision and mentoring, individual research trips to another country of the region and the EU, and a concluding seminar and award ceremony in Vienna. Supporting seminars also feature meetings with Austrian and German political and economic actors as well as with the Fellowship’s media partners - Süddeutsche Zeitung and Der Standard.

Successful applicants will receive a fellowship of 2000 Euros and a travel allowance of up to 2000 Euros, while the programme’s selection committee, composed of local and European journalists and experts, will award one fellow an individually-tailored opportunity for further professional development, to the value of 8000 Euros.

Fellowship reports will be published at the end of the year, and disseminated widely in all local languages, English and German.

It’s a topic that preoccupies officials, politicians and citizens across Europe - and arguably one of the biggest challenges facing this continent and the international community. In 2008, applicants for the Fellowship programme are invited to explore the subject of energy. But not only headline issues such as the supply of fuel, climate change and renewables. Entrants are also encouraged to look at human energy such as energy of ideas, energy for change and energy for reconstruction as well as destruction.

Participants are invited to tackle a broad range of themes within a Balkan or European context: from energy security, dependence on distant sources of fuel, health and pollution, the move to replace fossil fuels with green energy, and changes in lifestyle to reduce our carbon footprint, to the efforts of individuals or groups to confront political corruption, ethnic intolerance or prejudices in education and business.

Proposals should include plans for cross-border research, involving at least two countries in the Balkans and one EU member state. They can highlight examples of success as well as barriers to learning from others’ experiences. They should unearth fresh information or adopt original perspectives that will attract a wide readership in the Balkans and in the EU. The completed articles should be 2,000 words in length.

The Balkan news media are increasingly required to report on complex reform issues with regional and Europe-wide dimensions. Journalists, however, are under-prepared to tackle these, lacking resources for appropriate training and foreign travel. The lack of information and analysis on transitional challenges and opportunities feeds the introspection common in all countries of the region, discouraging public engagement in its recovery, development and European integration.

The fellowship programme features an introductory seminar in Berlin, providing professional guidance to fellows as they prepare their projects. Once underway, local editors from BIRN network are on hand to supervise and mentor each fellow’s research and reporting. The programme moreover includes individual research trips to another country of the region and the EU, as well as a concluding seminar and award ceremony in Vienna. Supporting programmes in Vienna and Berlin ensure that fellows learn about current political and economic issues of concern in the EU, and feature meetings with representatives of the Austrian and German media, as well as political and economic actors.

Journalists receive a fellowship of 2000 Euros and a travel allowance of up to 2000 Euros.

The selection committee judges the quality of reports and progress made, awarding one fellow with an individually-tailored opportunity for further professional development, to the value of 8000 Euros.

Fellowship reports are published in a special book and electronic format, and disseminated widely in all local languages, English and German.

Fellows are encouraged to maintain contact and support new intakes through an alumni network.

Requirements
- citizen of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania or Serbia,
- demonstrable experience in written journalism;
- agreement of employer to participate in the fellowship programme;
- ability to communicate fluently in English
(NB. reporting may be done in local language).