Young Journalists (Migratory Birds)
WHAT IS IT;
The Young Journalists program is a non-formal and inclusive training practice, with journalism and mass media as key tools, aimed at teenagers and young adults aged 13-24. The members of the group “Young Journalists”, a group of teenagers and young refugees, immigrants and Greek women, publish the newspaper “Migratory Birds”, whose content, subject matter, and the composition of the articles are result of collective work of the members. The newspaper includes texts in English, Arabic, Greek, Urdu and Farsi, while the reader can read the articles of the editorial team on the website www.migratorybirds.gr.
The Young Journalists program was featured as a promising good practice and example of peer-to-peer participatory learning in a practical handbook for professionals working with children, compiled by the Council of Europe’s Children’s Rights Directorate.
WHERE IS IT;
Konstantinoupoleos 189, Kolonos, Athens (Youth Center)
Contact phone number: 2105148366
HOW DID IT ALL START?
The reason for the creation of the program was the reluctance of the people living in the refugee accommodation structures to talk to journalists, as they believed that their story would not be portrayed as it should be. So, in 2017, fifteen teenage Afghan girls and one young Greek girl decided to become journalists themselves and to be the voices of the refugee population. Since then, the group has grown and continues to be constantly enriched by a multitude of new members of many different nationalities and languages.
WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT IT?
The Young Journalists program strives to introduce participant-members to a wide range of activities aimed at familiarizing the group with mass media and journalism.
Through the workshops, the journalism courses, the visits to professional places, but also the editorial meetings, the participants manage to successfully form a theoretical framework, which then allows them to successfully conduct interviews with political figures, successful professionals, etc. while three of the participants successfully completed, during the past year, internships in companies active in the media sector.
Through their participation in the program, teenagers have the opportunity to express themselves, while maintaining contact with their native language and culture, to share their concerns and experiences and to participate in activities that promote their social inclusion.
