It would be too easy to condemn the Slovak media for not being interested in events in developing countries. One more thoughtful solution is enough. For example, train a group of young journalists on how to report on development issues. The three-month course "Reporting and Writing About Development in the World" was created in cooperation with the European Journalism Center and the Poynter Institute. Its partners in Slovakia are MVRO Platform and PDCS. The course is held as part of the V4 Aid project, which seeks to promote awareness of development issues in the V4 countries. The goal of the project is to intensify the cooperation of the V4 countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The American Poynter Institute trains groups of young journalists in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The course is e-learning, which easily covers thousands of kilometers, and thanks to the Poynter Institute's many years of experience with similar courses, it is highly interactive and encourages activity. About halfway through the course, a personal lecture by the lead lecturer, American reporter Bill Mitchell, took place in all major cities. The output of the course will be the journalistic work of each participant, on the basis of which the best young journalist in each country will be selected, who will be given the opportunity to report on development directly from Kenya. You can find more information at: www.pdcs.sk/e-learning and at www.mvro.sk
The article was published in the Development Aid - Spring 2012 newsletter. It is published by Platforma mimovládnych rozvojových organizácií (MVRO), which is an association of legal entities - an umbrella organization of 32 (25 regular members and 7 observers) Slovak non-governmental organizations that deal mainly with foreign development and humanitarian aid. http://www.mvro.sk