Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the keynote speaker at the World Journalism Education Congress in Grahamstown, South Africa last month. More than 400 delegates attended the congress and the simultaneous Highway Africa meeting
The WJEC, the second of its kind, was supported by the EJTA, and EJTA president Anna McKane and former president Marianne Peters were among the delegates.
Nico Drok, who presented his paper on EJTA’s research into journalism competencies, was also representing EJTA.
Papers, reports and video from the congress are now online at http://wjec.ru.ac.za/.
The WJEC is now firmly on the agenda, and a third congress is proposed for three years’ time. See below for a call for proposals.

The World Journalism Education Congress announces a call for proposals to host the 3rd World Journalism Education Congress to be held in 2013.  This third meeting will follow two highly successful meetings in Singapore (2007) and Grahamstown, South Africa (2010).  The congresses are held under the auspices of the World Journalism Education Council, which is an informal coalition of 29 academic organizations involved partly or wholly in journalism education and is dedicated to advancement of the field by sponsoring congresses, conducting a global census and producing scholarship (wjec.ou.edu).

Proposals to host the 3rd World Journalism Education Congress in 2013 should meet the following criteria:

1.Bids should be endorsed by a WJEC organization in the host country.
2.The WJEC may be held in conjunction with an existing academic or professional meeting in the host country.
3.Applicants must show their capability of organizing a multi-faceted academic meeting.
4.Financial responsibility for conducting a WJEC meeting will be the responsibility of the host institution with revenue to be generated by delegate registration, sponsorships, and grants.  Sponsorships should be vetted by the World Journalism Education Council or its Steering Committee.
5.The registration fee will be negotiated between WJEC and the host institution/organization.  Preference will be given to proposals that contain plans for reduced registration for delegates from developing countries following World Bank criteria and sponsorship where possible to support delegates from developing countries.
6.WJEC proposals should include a detailed budget for a three-day congress with revenue and expense projections and contain a letter of commitment from the head of the host institution/organization.
7.Proposals should include a description of transportation options to/from the venue, accommodation options and cultural/tourism opportunities.
8.The three-day program format for WJEC meetings should include the following:
A.Plenaries (no competing sessions scheduled)
B.Panels (two simultaneous sessions)
C.Research Panels (multiple simultaneous sessions)
D.Workshops
E.Small Group Syndicates (no competing sessions scheduled)
9.WJEC will take responsibility for organizing and running the academic paper competition, the competition for panel proposals and the scheduling of syndicates. WJEC will also be responsible for creating and approving the program.
10.Proposals should assume that meetings and presentations will be conducted mainly in English.  Preference will be given to proposals that provide for simultaneous translation of major sessions into other languages.

Deadline for proposals is March 31, 2011.  Proposals should be sent electronically in PDF format to Joe Foote at .  Finalists may be asked to make a presentation at the WJEC planning meeting to be held in spring or summer, 2011.

Approved by World Journalism Education Congress, July 6, 2010.

EJTA president Anna McKane spoke about journalism education at a conference in Paris on September 30 attended by some 200 journalists, academics, trade union representatives, and students.
The conference FAUT-IL FORMER LES JOURNALISTES discussed possible future accreditation of journalism schools in France. At present only 13 schools are recognised by the government and the trade unions, but there are believed to be up to 80 or so schools which are unregulated and unrecognised. A wider accreditation process, which would be supported by the government, will enable employers and students decide on the best places for education. The conference was opened by Valerie Pecresse, Minister for higher education research, and closed by Frederic Mitterrand, Minister for culture and communication.

You can read her presentation here.