In September, we participated and created spaces that strengthened the debate on journalism, civil society, conditions for creating impact and sustainable transformations in a world experiencing interconnected crises.
Online workshops with Climate Tracker and with the Argentine Journalism Forum
Through our InnContext News Agency, we held two spaces for training and exchange on collaboration between journalism and civil society, based on the work we have been carrying out in partnership with other organizations on the topic, which culminated in a practical guide on the subject. In total, more than 110 professionals from different places participated in the activities with Climate Tracker and with the Argentine Journalism Forum.
“Beyond the numbers, the conversations once again showed something we have been hearing from participants: these spaces are necessary. Journalists appreciated the opportunity to exchange experiences, raise concrete challenges around working with communities and organizations, and have tools to build collaborations that preserve journalistic independence while, at the same time, increasing the impact of stories,” comments Florencia Tuchin, from the InnContext News Agency.
Guide to designing symbiotic relationships between journalism and civil society
In nature, the most resilient species are those that collaborate. The same is true of journalism: its strength multiplies when it builds symbiotic relationships with other social actors. The “Guide to Designing Symbiotic Relationships between Journalism and Civil Society“, which we launched through the InnContext Agency, invites us to rethink collaboration as a path toward strengthening the public and democratic role of media, enhancing their capacity for impact.
The document brings together learnings, tools and concrete examples gathered from a series of dialogues we organized in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center and the Center for Journalism Studies (Ceper) at Universidad de los Andes. The guide offers a collaboration decalogue, strategies for measuring impact through the lens of resonance, and inspiring cases of successful alliances.
XV LATAM Digital Media and Journalism Festival
We also held an in-person workshop at the University of Communication in Mexico City, entitled “What can we learn from capybaras? Symbiotic relationships between journalism and civil society as an antidote to radicalism”.
The activity took place as part of the XV LATAM Digital Media and Journalism Festival, which featured a program with more than 40 guests from 13 countries to discuss digital journalism, artificial intelligence, open data, social media, image, democracy, migration, civic space, cultural journalism, local media and new narratives.
The workshop proposed a practical provocation: how can journalists, media outlets and civil society organizations collaborate without losing independence, rigor or clarity of roles? But it also raised a deeper question: why are these collaborations especially urgent at this moment? Drawing on concrete experiences, dilemmas and learnings, the workshop sought to open a conversation about how to build useful, ethical and sustainable alliances among media outlets, journalists, social organizations, communities, funders and other actors in the public ecosystem.
Opening of the 15th LATAM Festival of Digital Media and Journalism, which Fundación Avina supports alongside Google News Initiative, the United Nations Human Rights Office, Oxfam, and SocialTIC. Organized by Factual and Universidad de la Comunicación.
