07.04.2005 |
The UNIQA ColIege for Journalists is taking place for the fourth time from 31 July to 7 August 2005. With the theme “You´ve got an appointment with Violetta” – an allusion to one of the main characters in the opera “La Traviata” – young journalists from 10 Central and Eastern European countries are asked to apply right away for this year’s session. More detailed information about it may also be found on http://www.uniqa-college.com. The deadline for applications is 10 June 2005.
This announcement is directed at trainee journalists (max. age: 29) in the cultural and economics departments from Croatia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Northern Italy, Hungary, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany, i.e. all the countries in which UNIQA is active. The costs for the seminar, in addition to travel and accommodation expenses, will be borne by UNIQA.
Applications
Applications may be sent (preferably) via the online application form on www.uniqa-college.comor by post (see address below). Besides the following documentation, excellent written and spoken English are vital. All lectures, workshops and guided tours will take place in English.
Documentation required for applications in English:
■CV
■Statement saying why you are motivated to attend this seminar
■Some samples of your work (published articles or records of journalistic work that has been broadcast) in the language of the country in which it was published or broadcast
A jury of experts is to nominate the 20 final participants from all the applications received. The names of the latter will be announced at the end of June.
Extensive cooperation between UNIQA and the Salzburg Festival
“When we decided to support the Salzburg Festival, we resolved to be an active partner. With the UNIQA College for Journalists, we brought a project into being that represents our joint involvement in art and culture and the common ground of our Eastern European strategies, and at the same time drives us on. We want to demolish cultural, but also local borders, and the lasting success of our first three sessions of the training college shows us that we are also succeeding with it, “ commented Konstantin Klien on UNIQA’s involvement in Salzburg’s traditional festival.
Helga Rabl-Stadler, President of the Salzburg Festival, adds: “We are terribly pleased to meet so many young, highly motivated journalists from the new EU countries as a result of UNIQA’s initiative. The UNIQA College for Journalists is in this respect also an important building-block in our communications policy with Eastern Europe and with future festival visitors from this cultural area.”
In summer 2002, UNIQA invited 20 young journalists from Austria and Central and Eastern Europe to Salzburg for the first time for a training seminar. The project was initiated at that time as a valuable complement to the company’s sponsoring of the Salzburg Festival. Today, the UNIQA College for Journalists has advanced to become an integral part of the fringe events at the Festival. It is not only held in high regard by the participants but also enjoys considerable support from the Festival team. The UNIQA College for Journalists received particular recognition when it was nominated for the “2003 State Prize for Public Relations”.
The College Programme
The event offers the participants a balanced programme between theoretical journalistic lectures and practical experience. “The goal of the one-week training seminar is to provide the young media representatives with comprehensive insight into the various areas of the major cultural event, the Salzburg Festival, on the one hand, but on the other, also to familiarise them with modern forms of journalism and state-of-the-art methods, thus putting “tools” into their hands for their daily work,” according to Konstantin Klien. The programme includes sessions with well-known Austrian and international representatives from the fields of cultural and economic journalism, professional discussions with the Festival’s top managers, artistic directors and selected artists from theatre and opera, in addition to a glimpse “behind the scenes”.
Preparation
The UNIQA sister companies are intensively involved in the preparation for the College. Publicity and the invitation of applicants and selection of participants are the task of the national companies. On the one hand, contacts between representatives of the company in each country and the participants from the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 continue to be used, while on the other, connections with journalists’ organisations, PR associations and media have been established in order to inform potential participants about the possibility of applying for this year’s college.
In Austria, UNIQA relies on a partner who has been actively involved since the project started for its planning, preparation and execution – the future bytes ( www.futurebytes.at) team is responsible among other things for homepage design and means of promotion, programme design and care of the participants during the event.