The Solidarity Academy is an international project aimed at inspiring and supporting the development of the young intellectual elites of Europe. The main values and rules of the project are: respect for others, openness to self-development, cooperation, tolerance, willingness to discuss even the most difficult topics, awareness of the cultural differentiation, and a readiness to receive feedback.
At the workshops and lectures held during the Solidarity Academy, 16 young journalists will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and develop skills useful for the work of an ambitious journalist, commentator or analyst interested in such issues as geopolitics or liberation movements on both a local and global/ European scale.
Eligibility
The Solidarity Academy team is looking for 16 active, aspiring and young (20-30 years old) journalists from the Baltic Sea states who are willing to improve their editorial and journalism-related skills and engage themselves into the international networking process.
List of Baltic Sea states according to Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) can be found here. Candidates from CBSS Observer states are also encouraged to apply. List of Observers can be found here.
Costs
Organizers cover the costs of travel (up to 300 €) and the participants’ stay in Gdansk, trip to and from Kaliningrad and a stay in Kaliningrad.
Agenda of the project and Programme of the Academy
The agenda of the project:
25 August – 11 September: call for applications
18 September: deadline of the recruitment results
13 – 30 November: Solidarity Academy in Gdańsk (6 days) and in Kaliningrad (2 days)
30 November – 31 December: implementation of the final project
The Programme of this year’s Solidarity Academy is attached to the call for applications.
Application form
The application form is available here. Please note that all applications must be received by 23 September 2016.
Language
The working language of the Solidarity Academy is English.
Trip to Kaliningrad
Part of the programme of the Solidarity Academy will be held in Gdańsk (6 days) and part (2 days) in Kaliningrad. Organizers will provide participants visas to Kaliningrad and cover transportation costs to and from Kaliningrad as well as their stay there (accommodation and board).
Final projects
One of the tasks that participants will be obliged to complete as part of the programme is the creation and implementation of a final project. Firstly, participants will be able to decide on their preferred sphere of interest (society/politics/history/culture) and mark their choice on the application form.
Secondly, participants will have a special workshop dedicated to the process of creating and implementing the final project. They will work on 4 ideas in 4 working groups (according to their interests, resources, needs and ideas). Thirdly, participants will present their ideas during the final day of the Solidarity Academy.
Finally, participants, together with organizers and partners, will decide on the best final project and implement it by 31 December 2016. The cost of the final project implementation is covered by the project budget but responsibility for this implementation lies with the participants of the Solidarity Academy, supported by the partners and organizer of the project.
Participants’ commitments
Applying to the Solidarity Academy applicants are expected to be aware of:
• The project’s aim, main values and rules;
• The project’s agenda (especially the fixed dates of the Solidarity Academy);
• The costs of travel that participants will have to cover on their own before its reimbursement (up to 100 euros);
• The full commitment and engagement into the implementation of the final project and other project tasks according to the agenda.
Previous editions
We also invite you to watch the film about Solidarity Academy 2013, Solidarity Academy 2014, Solidarity Academy 2015 and Solidarity Academy 2016 (Visegrad edition).
More information and contact to the organizers
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the organizational team: [email protected]. More information about the project → ecs.gda.pl, solidarityacademy.eu. Follow us also on Facebook. We are looking forward to meeting you in Gdansk!
The project is organized by the European Solidarity Centre (Poland) and Council of the Baltic Sea States (headquarters in Sweden).
Partners of the project:
• The Common Europe Foundation – editorial office of the Eastbook.eu (Poland)
• The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Germany)
• The Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe in Wroclaw – editorial office of New Eastern Europe (Poland)
• The Schleswig-Holstein Youth Council (Germany)
The project is co-financed by the Federal Republic of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.
