Project to support independent media and cross-border news exchange between Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine reports results
Internews Georgia is presenting the results of the cross-border journalism project “Strengthening Independent Media in Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia”, aimed at improving access to information and media literacy among citizens of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia. The project supported nine local media outlets in Georgia with multimedia content, skills, technologies and micro-grants to diversify content of their websites and make them more engaging for the public; The project also facilitated joint reporting by Georgian, Moldovan and Ukrainian journalists, produced useful online tools by connecting journalists with IT specialists, and facilitated increased media literacy and information exchange among the youth and the elderly.
The project was implemented in partnership with Internews (US), Internews Ukraine, and Independent Journalism Center (Moldova). The project received support from the US Department of State.
Nine local media partners, selected through a competitive process, received thematic multimedia packages on topics of national public interest, entitled “Georgia Plus”, and supplemented them with local news. The “Georgia Plus” series were produced by journalists from national media, also selected through a competition, and covered seven thematic areas with multimedia content. Local media outlets produced 189 stories on these topics in complex, multimedia formats (video, audio, written materials, infographics, interactive maps, games, quizzes).
Cross-border content focused on topics of significance to citizens in, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. These regional news packages were produced as a joint effort of Moldovan, Ukrainian and Georgia journalists.
The project also included two components designed to benefit young people and the elderly. Young people joined in with the “European Café” discussion club, held at different venues all around Georgia (Borjomi, Telavi, Batumi, Gori, Kutaisi), and in the “Media Literacy Camp”, held in Chakvi. These gatherings offered young people opportunities to meet journalists, activists, scholars, artists, and discuss topics of common interest. The elderly in the rural areas received some basic Internet skills training, called “Get Grandma Online,” to help them become better connected with social and community life.
The “Innovation Fund” helped partner media to obtain resources and assistance with technology upgrades to their newsrooms. The “Media App Hackathon” and “Media Innovations Lab” connected software developers, local and regional media, and citizen/media activists to create apps and online tools for independent media.
The presentation of the project results will be held at 2pm, April 26, at the Silicon Valley Tbilisi (on the premises of the Business and Technology University), 82 Ilya Chavchavadze Avenue. For more information please contact Maia Mikashavidze, project director, (cell: 599 589704, maia.mikashavidze@gmail.com) or Shorena Kochiashvili, project assistant (cell: 598 404401, shorena@internews.ge).
