Current climate protests and the media’s handling of climate issues were the focus of this year’s International School of Multimedia Journalism 2023. Under the theme “Covering Climate Crises”, twenty journalism students from four countries dealt with different aspects of climate journalism and also reflected on their own role. The result are five exciting multimedia reports, each of which takes a very unique look at the topic.
Journalism education in an intercultural setting
The International School of Multimedia Journalism (ISMJ) has existed since 2015 and offers journalism students in Austria a hitherto unique opportunity to deal with current topics in an intercultural setting and to expand and deepen their own knowledge of multimedia journalism.
During the intensive working week, the participants were also given the opportunity to experience the city of Vienna and its culture. This included a guided tour of the imposing Vienna City Hall, where the participants could learn more about the history and architecture of the building.
Several dinners spread throughout the week provided a relaxed atmosphere for informal exchange and networking. Participants had the opportunity to get to know each other and share their experiences and perspectives.
Covering Climate Crises – Climate journalism beyond activism and alarmism
Another highlight of the project week was the lecture by Katharina Kropshofer and Clara Porak from the Network Climate Journalism Austria. They spoke about the importance of climate journalism in times of climate change and gave the participants valuable tips and suggestions for their work.
During the research, the participants not only learned about interesting stories, but also about cultural differences and similarities in journalistic work. In addition to the project work, the students also had to overcome linguistic and cultural hurdles. The result was five multimedia reports, each of which takes a very unique look at the subject area. The resulting works were then presented in a final presentation.
The projects at a glance:
Within one week, the groups had to research topics and design storyboards, conduct interviews and write texts, edit videos and design their multimedia reports.
- Barking up the wrong trees
- Climate Crisis – Between denial and information flood
- Operation Climate
- From Greta to Grandma
- Climate Injustice
Conclusion
Overall, the project week was a great success. The participants were not only able to improve their skills in multimedia journalism, but also deepen their understanding of the current climate crises and network with other journalists.
We hope that the participants will be able to use the knowledge and experience gained in their future work and have a positive impact on climate change reporting.
About the ISMJ – International School of Multimedia Journalism
The ISMJ – International School of Multimedia Journalism was jointly established by the Journalism & Media Management study programs at FHWien der WKW, the Ukrainian Catholic University of Lviv and the OeAD Cooperation Office in Lviv in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian War to strengthen the connection between the two countries and as a sign of support for Ukraine. Since the second year of its existence, the Danish School of Media and Journalism and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs have also participated as additional project partners.
The project is implemented with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF), the OeAD Cooperation Office Lviv/Lemberg, the OeAD-GmbH, the City of Vienna and the Cultural Section of the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs (BMEIA).
Further information about the ISMJ – International School of Multimedia Journalism and all previous project works can be found on the project website at https://multimediajournalism.eu/.