In a recent post I have explained the reasons why we decided to set up this mentorship program. Now it is time to tell you something about the planned activities.
Through an application procedure we selected three Czech journalists who will accompany us in India to learn about Burma, the work of Burmese exile media and the living conditions of Burmese refugees, and to share their experiences with their Burmese colleagues. Among the many highly qualified applicants, we chose three who represent TV, radio, and Internet media. All of them have professional experience of working and traveling in Asia.
These journalists would not be journalists if we wouldn’t expect from them some later output about the things they have seen during their trip. But you won’t have to wait until their return if you want to know about what is going on in India. We are excited to announce here that you will be able to follow their steps through Delhi from day to day – even though, I admit, there might be one or another day missing.
These three journalists will be writing their own blogs during their time in India. If the blogs are not hosted here (which we will find out soon), we will every now and then reproduce snippets, add our comments, or summarize from our side.
So don’t forget to check back around September 19th on the following pages1:
We will keep you informed here at this central point.
Now that you know where their virtual homes will be during the last two weeks of September, we can also reveal their location in the real world. You might have guessed it after the last post: The journalists will be staying with the Mizzima News media outlet, based in New Delhi. They’ll be living and working in the quarters where Burmese refugees dwell, almost invisibly, among the poorer population of Delhi. So you can expect nothing less than real in-depth reports right from the scene.
For Monday the 27th we are planning a special event together with Indian journalists and, hopefully, diplomatic representatives.
Part of the Burma Center Prague team will accompany the journalists to Delhi, mainly in order to visit the recipients of the micro-projects that are one of our other activities. I am looking forward to seeing how these people and their projects are doing. Are you curious as well? If so, have a look at my own blog around September 19th where I will try to keep a diary about these visits – whenever I find time to write and a working Internet connection.
- 1. Blogs will be in Czech language. We will, however, provide ad hoc translations when we find passages that you definitely should not miss. ↩
