Thursday, June 11, 2009

Interning at the EJC


I was very excited when I heard that I would have the opportunity of interning at the European Journalism Centre (EJC)! The EJC was not originally listed in the Brussels program application as a possible place to intern with, and I remember listing it as one of the top organizations I would be interested in for an internship. I have even used the EJC’s work in the past when conducting research for multiple papers!


The EJC is primarily involved in organizing and executing seminars for journalists and Brussels correspondents for media outlets across Europe, but also for journalists from the countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and beyond, such as Turkey, the Balkan countries, Brazil and Canada. The primary goal of the seminars is to expose these journalists to the European Union and provide them with information about the structure and mission of EU institutions, so that the journalists are able to report more accurately about the EU. In addition, the EJC monitors and researches the media landscape across Europe and provides a tremendous amount of news and resources to journalists and members of the media across Europe and around the world.


My colleagues at the EJC are extremely friendly and very diverse, coming from countries such as Italy, France, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Spain, the UK, Portugal, Sweden and Macedonia, in addition to fellows from Japan and South Korea. Even my name and contact information is up on the EJC web site!


My internship experience so far has been fantastic! Since I am primarily interested in current events and the news media, with a regional interest in Europe, the EJC has been an ideal place to intern. I am primarily involved in helping the EJC implement its activities in various ways, and I am also able to attend many of the EJC’s seminars and events as an EJC observer. So far, I have attended seminar programmes relating to the ENP and issues concerning the Middle East conflict, the global role of the euro currency and how Turkish journalists can better understand the EU. I have also been able to visit the EJC’s headquarters in Maastricht.


During the remaining time of my internship, I will be able to attend additional seminars, a daily press briefing of the European Commission, and I will also have the opportunity to take a tour of the audiovisual production facilities of both the Commission and the European Parliament, which I have been told is state of the art.


Through the completion of my daily tasks, ability to attend various seminars and events, and interaction with such a diverse group of colleagues, this internship has truly broadened my knowledge about how the EU works, issues relating to media reporting about the EU and how Europeans view the EU. I am having a tremendous time so far and look forward to the time I have left here. One of the other interns here at the EJC now was an intern last summer, and one of my colleagues who works in the same room as me got a full-time position at the EJC after interning here, so I am excited about the possibility of working with or at the EJC sometime in the future!

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