Newsroom Europe 2024

Protect, promote, and raise awareness on rights, Union values and bring the EU closer to young citizens.

The European Union needs a European public

About Newsroom

The Project “Newsroom Europe” trains young Europeans from three EU Member States (Germany, Belgium and Hungary) in critical and open-minded media reporting and on the functioning of the European decision-making. The participants report in an established news blog on European affairs on the priorities of the 2024's EU Council Presidencies of Belgium and Hungary. The participants form trinational editorial teams covering the Presidency's priorities and developments. The editorial teams establish a "Newsroom Europe" where they peer review their observations and texts. The project aims to establish a multinational view on the respective presidency and the topics at hand. Newsroom Europe is planned be continued within the next years.

We at the European Academy Berlin organize this project together with our partners, the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (European Dialogue of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Belgium), der Independent Journalism Foundation / Független Újságírók Alapítványa (Hungary) sowie unserem Medienpartner Treffpunkt Europa as well as our media partner Treffpunkt Europa. This project is part of our long-term goal to create a European network of young Europeans and to promote the debate on the future of Europe beyond the national media audience.

Eligibility criteria

Participants are between 18 and 30 years old, normally resident in one of the three countries and interested in journalism and EU issues. Face-to-face meetings are held in March, May and October. The project lasts from January to December 2024.

Newsroom Europe is about media literacy, youth engagement and raising awareness on EU rights and values

Training | Participants are trained in media reporting, EU institutional knowledge and especially the functioning of an EU Council Presidency. The respective priorities are being presented by officials to the Newsroom members. Participants learn to search for information, to form their own judgement and publish peer-reviewed, high quality articles. They publish regularly on a news outlet, on topics relevant to their peer group, and thus produce an organic, transnational outreach within their communities and to Europeans at their age.

Engagement | The young adults are supported in their interest and curiosity in European issues by the professional guidance of media experts and EU policy experts. The EAB organizes high-quality analogue and digital meetings and trainings. These are tailored to the participants' needs. There, the members of the newsroom can playfully implement journalistic methods, build contacts with decision-makers in a protected environment and expand their knowledge.

Raising awareness on EU rights and values | Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine is calling the European security architecture into question. The resulting economic uncertainty is coupled with concerns about the social cohesion of European societies. Europe's values have come under fire from the rise of populism and nationalism in recent years. Newsroom Europe takes up these social issues. At the same time, it strengthens participants as active Europeans to stand up and discuss for common European values such as human rights, freedom of expression, tolerance, peace and democracy.