A look at some of iMEdD’s initiatives and content from the year we are leaving behind…
PART ONE
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we set up an observatory in cooperation with international independent journalistic organisations, universities, and expert analysts in order to document the evolution and impact of the events surrounding the crisis in Ukraine. Specialised analyses, data processing tools and fact-checking tools are the main journalistic material.
What is data journalism? What opportunities and limitations does it present? Who and what is involved in making and making sense of it? “The Data Journalism Handbook: Towards a Critical Data Practice” provides answers to both simple and more complex questions about data journalism. The Greek version is produced by iMEdD, edited by Kelly Kiki, data journalist and translated by Evita Lykou, and is available at datahandbook.lab.imedd.org.
Following the publication, two events were organized by iMEdD in Athens and Thessaloniki. These brought together data journalists, academics, members of the civic-tech community and students, who openly discussed why and how data can enhance and enrich journalistic research and storytelling.
iMEdD produced a series of videos introducing the creators of the journalism projects that participated in the 2021 incubator. In the videos, Yannis Kolesidis, Penelope Thomaidi, Stavros Malihoudis, Sarah Souli and Achilleas Galatsidas, talk about themselves, how they came to become journalists and the reasons why they decided to create their project.
In the framework of the Evia Film Project, an initiative of the Thessaloniki Film Festival in collaboration with iMEdD, open discussions, workshops and masterclasses took place. The two organisations attempted to explore the fields of encounter between film, research, and journalism. The iMEdD Masterclasses were attended by:
- Yorgos Avgeropoulos, filmmaker/journalist
Journalism in the production of an environmental documentary
- Katerina Christofilidou, environmental journalist
News reporting for an environmental film – a practical guide
We also invited and hosted students from journalism faculties in Greece to attend these events.
iMEdD Lab researched global food prices (of the most traded, basic food commodities worldwide – cereals, vegetable oils, meat, dairy products, and sugar) in 2022, taking into account the pre-coronavirus era and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read more about the annual evolution of the food price index HERE.
Aiming at an interactive and dynamic experience for all visitors of SNF Nostos Health 2022, iMEdD supported the SNF Nostos team with the creation, curation, and supervision of the content of the SNF Nostos Conference as well as the side events.
In the context of the conference, the iMEdD Media Area was set up, a specially designed space where journalists and media professionals were able to work, attend sessions and chat with international speakers.
In the context of iMEdD’s “Small Talk” podcast series, Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou, journalist and iMEdD’s Managing Director, met ms. Valerie Biden Owens, Chair of the Biden Institute, in Athens, Greece, during the SNF Nostos Health 2022. The discussion focused on politics, the role of the media, her remarkable career, women’s empowerment and what it was like for her growing up as Biden as the title of her new book “Growing up Biden”.
In the framework of iMEdD’s mission to promote and strengthen journalism, we seek partnerships with national and international universities. This fact is highlighted by the Memorandum of Cooperation we signed with Panteion University, for the exchange of consulting know-how, synergies in research and journalistic activities. The collaboration launched, through a thematic module on data journalism for fourth-year students from the iMEdD Lab.
What is the level of public and journalists’ own trust in journalism? iMEdD, in cooperation with the Public Opinion and Market Research Unit of the University of Macedonia, conducted two nationwide surveys, aiming to map both public and professionals‘ views and attitudes towards the journalism profession.
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival in collaboration with iMEdD invited podcast creators from Greece and abroad to submit their ideas and proposals for the creation of podcasts based on journalistic research and documentation.
The “award for the development of an original podcast” was awarded to the proposal for the implementation of the podcast “Mute – The silent violence of the parting walls” by journalist Andreas Vagias.
The final podcast will be presented during the 25th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (March 2023), in a special event, in the Out of Competition Podcast section.
TO BE CONTINUED…