Are you an active blogger? An activist who wants to shift mindsets, shape social change, mobilize people? Is your work related to Eastern Europe? Are you interested in gaining new skills in live blogging, social media, security online and verification?

This call might be just for you!

About the project

The Federal Agency for Civic Education/Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, in cooperation with Sourcefabric and n-ost, welcomes 20 bloggers to take part in a 5-days workshop in Berlin, Germany on 16-22 November 2015.

Shift. Shape. Mobilize. is aiming to get a better understanding about the socio-political relevance of blogs in countries in transition. The project has the goal of raising awareness, empowering and supporting the role of bloggers in Eastern Europe, as an alternative source of information in society.

During the workshop, you will gain skills & awareness in online security / verification of sources / social media / open data, etc. Furthermore, you will get to know different open source blogging and publishing tools to support their work, such as Sourcefabric’s Live Blog and Booktype. During your stay in Berlin, you will have the opportunity to get to know local communities of journalists, bloggers, activists and hackers.

You will attend a series of practical workshops with the purpose of improving concrete skills; you will partake in debates and panel discussions on hot-topics and receive training on new tools. Additionally, you will be able to live blog and report from then-ost media conference “Translating Worlds”.

Who can apply?

Bloggers...

... from different European countries. Bloggers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the Russian Federation are especially welcomed to apply.

... actively blogging on sociopolitical topics, either by directly addressing social, political, economic or environmental issues in their country or in Europe, or by addressing them in an artistic way, such as photography, comics, music, artistic actions and campaigns, etc.

English proficiency is essential (the workshop will be conducted in English).

Available to attend the workshop in full, from 16 to 22 November 2015 in Berlin, Germany.

Selection will be made in line with gender and geographical balance.

What about the costs?

All costs will be covered by the organisers of the event, including travel to/from Berlin, visa, accommodation, meals and all materials to be used during the workshop.

Note: bloggers will be asked to bring their own laptop, camera and microphone.

How to apply?

Interested candidates are invited to apply by filling the application form.

During the application process, you will be asked to provide a blog post telling us a story about:

• a recent positive action / campaign that inspired you
• what keeps you going as an activist against the challenges your country is facing
• how activists are bringing social change through social media

Note: the blog post has to be 4,000 min. - 8,000 max. characters long, submitted as word or URL. As a blog post you can include links, pictures and videos in your texts!

Deadline for receiving applications is: 20 September, 23:59h CET.

Questions? Contact: [email protected]

http://n-ost.org/blogger_workshop