TH!NK ABOUT IT 3 - March Launch Meeting

Duty to be human

At the European Blogging Competition launch event held in Brussels on 22-23 March there were people from the four corners of the world, from chilly Nordic Finland to picturesque tropical Madagascar; from young undergraduate students to inspirational 'old dogs' of traditional media. All bred for a single purpose: give a step forward to achieve the Millennium Development Goals


By LUAN GALANI (luan.galani@wavemagazine.net)
from Curitiba, BRAZIL
Photos: BENNO HANSEN


Crowds of tourists patrol the meandering cobbled streets near Brussels' Grand' Place hoping to find a statuette of a little boy in a somewhat compromising position: in the midst of a never-ending pee.

To this famous Brussels landmark - the Manneken Pis - most participants from the European Journalism Centre initiative were flocking just after the launch dinner. Among all those gathered people from the four corners of the world, there was a man, at that time quite isolated, concentrating all his efforts on adjusting some functions on a camera dangled from his neck. Bald and tall like a Chinese vase, with green eyes, glasses and apparently a bit older than most of the participants, I had no idea of whom he was.

Without so much as a by-your-leave, I came close and straightaway followed the protocol of introduction: "What is your name? Where are you from?" And so on. His name was Thomas and he was coming from the land of a once traditional and powerful monarchy in Europe - Vienna. At that very moment, I thought to myself that I could include him on my mental list of those I had been able to get to know.

The unexpected sprang out

In the other day, much to my surprise, I discovered that Thomas was not a participant like me. Little did I know he was the Thomas Seifert, member of the Foreign Desk of "Die Presse", Austria's leading broadsheet daily paper. I could not believe in that. How had not I recognized one of my idealized journalism idols? For a Norwegian fellow, it was fine not recognizing Thomas. But for me, a long time loyal reader, it was unforgivable.

Thomas is the inspirational author of the critically acclaimed bestseller "Schwarzbuch Öl" ("The Black Book on Oil"), an inspiring in-depth analysis about the oil industry. Thought-provoking it is, to say the least. Moreover, this old dog - as he called himself - had reported the fall of Taliban from Kabul, witnessed the fall of Saddam Hussein's massive statue and other mind-blowing experiences from the field.

At the event we had culturally different people from the four corners of the world, from chilly Nordic Finland to picturesque tropical Madagascar. In one moment I was having lunch with some fellows from Bulgaria and Hong Kong, in the next I was answering some questions about my homeland to the Australian freelance journalist Guy Degen. At the very end, I found myself chatting enthusiastically in Spanish with a Mexican young girl and making small talks, even in German, to a German young woman.

Correspondents on poverty

All discussions gravitated towards development journalism. As storytellers, the best approach for development journalists to make the public plunge in and actually act about problems is being human. Guy Degen highlighted, in unison with the other speakers, that humanization is the key on this issue. "It is really about taking time to meet people and to get to know them, because frequently, for example, on a refugee camp, there is no deadline when you have to spend time with people, to gain their trust, to be human. You can not just rush on in and expect people will tell you everything about their lives."

The message was clear. Development journalists have to try to understand somebody's else culture. Guy recalled about Bangladeshi workers who think they are going to places such as Dubai to work. They pay from 2,000 to 4,000 US dollars just for a contract in order to get out of Bangladesh. Somehow they find they are in Dubai and then they are forced to sign another contract and end up in Iraq cleaning streets. "Getting this sort of stories means spending time with people", he reinforced.

Moreover, other speakers reacted pointedly. Head of DW-AKADEMIE's Asia division, Helmut Osang felt there is still little visibility on these human stories due to lack of will among editors. To get down to transform it, he pointed out that lobbies nurtured in the society are the best answer.

A new term-notion that participants came across the meeting was 'correspondent on poverty'. It was told by Thomas Seifert who has also displayed a video explaining all the meaning and context of it. It is worth watching.



Journalists have a duty to be human

That was the message addressed to the participants from Linord Rachel Moudou, health correspondent of 'In Focus news magazine' with the Voice of America television. "Sometimes I feel I am being much more human than journalist", she confided in and encouraged us to do so.

Frankly speaking, development journalism is a quite complex field, dependent on many different layers for one to understand what is going on. So, the meeting in Brussels was all about kicking off discussion, rather than giving the rightest response to problems.

At the very end, quoting Billy Bragg from the 'Washington Post', Thomas Seifert mentioned that journalism is the first draft of History. "Historians will go back to our material. Hopefully, they will read blogs in the future".





(Published: 10.04.2010.)