The rediscovered continent
Europe’s Africa policy and the refugee crisis
7-days workshop on Migration and Development for African journalists,
21 to 27 June 2017, Berlin, Germany
The program
The German daily “taz (die tageszeitung) is organising a one-week workshop on African-Europes relations, migration and development in Berlin in June 2017. Ten journalists from Africa will meet stakeholders from civil society, academics, politicians and experts on migration and development. The programme focuses on German and European migration and African policy, giving special attention to
· the EU’s “Valletta process” of the EU (http://bit.ly/1MWApn0)
· the German G20 Presidency with the “G20 Africa Partnership Summit”
· the German government’s “Marshall Plan with Africa” (http://bit.ly/2nlZb7W)
Further topics are German and European refugee policy and German colonial history in Africa. The workshop will be conducted in English. Translation into French will be provided if necessary.
Background
Especially since the refugee crisis in Germany began in 2015, the EU has been trying to curb irregular migratory flows from Africa to Europe, establishing intensified diplomatic contacts and providing billions of euros of funding. Germany is an important player in this process. Chancellor Angela Merkel visited several African states in the autumn of 2016, the Federal Government invited a whole series of African delegations. Today, Africa is one of the most important focuses of the German G20 presidency. In this context, three important events will take place in Germany in the coming spring:
· the G20 Africa Partnership Summit in Berlin (June 12 and 13) http://bit.ly/2mTss6Y
· the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Berlin (28 to 30 June) https://gfmd.org/
· the G20 summit in Hamburg, attended by several African heads of state (7 and 8 July) http://bit.ly/2nIoh23
The participants
We are inviting ten professional journalists working for African media (print, online, radio, TV) dealing with issues of Europe/Africa relations, migration and development.We especially encourage female journalists to apply.
Costs
The program is free of charge for the participants. Accommodation and travel costs are covered by the taz Panter foundation. Taz takes care of accommodation, catering and travel arrangements and helps with visa applications for Germany. It is possible to enter earlier and/or to stay longer in Germany in order to report on the G20 Africa Partnership Summit or the Global Forum on Migration and Development (see above). The costs for any additional stay in Germany before or after the workshop must be borne by the participants themselves.
Organiser
The taz is the sixth largest national daily newspaper in Germany, based in Berlin, with a special focus on international reporting and African affairs. It is one of the few daily newspapers worldwide which is self-administered in a cooperative structure, independent of any commercial publishing house. The Panter Foundation is the taz’s non-profit foundation whose activities include support for press freedom and independent journalism worldwide.
Candidacies/Candidature
· The application deadline is 9 April 2017.
· The application form can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/2n64YMN
· Please send it with a CV and three work samples to africaworkshop@taz.de