Belarus
During the last days before the Swedish parliamental election a FOJO invited a group of Belarusian independent journalists to Sweden to see how Swedish journalists work.
Independent media in Belarus live under harsh conditions. The totalitarian regime makes it difficult for independent voices to make themselves heard. Fojo has worked with Belarus since 1997. So far more than 800 Belarusian journalists have taken part in Fojo training programmes. Presently Fojo has two local partners in Belarus: the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and the Institute of Journalism at the Belarusian State University (BGU).
The project “Supporting Independent Media and Access to Independent Information in Belarus” offers a wide range of courses focusing on topics such as political reporting, on-line journalism, Radio and TV training, photojournalism and much more. Fojo also provides special training for journalists who are about to become professional trainers. As a part of the exchange with BGU, Belarusian student journalists are invited to Sweden to study the role of news media in a functioning democracy.
The aims of the training programmes are to increase professionalism among Belarusian journalists and to strengthen independent media. Fojo’s programmes in Belarus are financed by The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).