Journalism and Human Rights
News about the opening of registration for the 1st Course on Journalism and Human Rights, between August 11 and September 18, reached 79 municipalities from 19 Brazilian states and resulted in 594 applications.
Developed exclusively for undergraduate students, the response to the new course offered by the Reporter of the Future Project demonstrates the interest that new generations of journalists from across Brazil have in learning about and covering topics related to human rights.
Last Saturday, September 20, 104 candidates for one of the course’s 20 places attended the Selection Meeting at the Union of Journalists, in São Paulo. In addition to taking a written test, the students attended a talk by Lucia Nader, executive director of Conectas, who spoke about the state of human rights in Brazil.
“But what, after all, are human rights? Which are the fundamental rights that need to be assured for every person?” asked Nader, addressing the students. The international relations expert then explained the process that began with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international covenants and treaties that followed and the consolidation of these principles in the Federal Constitution of 1988. “I think a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be kept on hand at all times. You should always have these guidelines in mind, so they can guide your work in the future,” said Nader.
The topic was also addressed from the viewpoint of the journalism profession in a presentation by the journalists Carolina Trevisan, Fausto Salvadori Filho and Rafael Bonifácio, of the Ponte group. The group of journalists who specialize in the coverage of public security, human rights and justice – and who will provide weekly one-on-one guidance to the students during the course – played two video reports on the eviction of squatters from the abandoned Aquarius Hotel, in downtown São Paulo, on September 16.
“Besides producing the coverage of human rights related topics, it is very important to notice how it is done,” explained Trevisan. “Our main concern should always be with the victims of the conflict and the violations,” she said.
Selected Students
Based on the analysis of the written tests, 20 students were selected to take part in the course. They will attend lectures and thematic press conferences on criminal law and the prison system, Brazilian foreign policy and human rights, business and human rights and the international human rights system.
The course will be held over four consecutive Saturdays: October 4, 11, 18 and 25, at the offices of Conectas. All the lecturers are part of the team of experts from the organization: Rafael Custódio, coordinator of the Justice program; Marcos Fuchs, associate director of the organization and executive director of the Pro Bono Institute; Camila Asano, coordinator of the Foreign Policy and Human Rights program; and Juana Kweitel, program director.
See below the list of the selected students
Agnes Sofia Guimarães Cruz | FAAC/UNESP-Bauru
Alfredo Ermírio de Araújo Andrade | University of São Paulo Law School
Alessandra Dantas Marques de Freitas | Cásper Líbero
Ana Carla Chiavegatti Sampaio Corrêa | FAAC/UNESP
Andressa da Silva Vilela | PUC-SP
Bianca Pereira Berti | IRI/USP
Carolina Schneider Fortes | PUC-RS
Luísa de Moura Roberto | IRI/USP
Luísa Harumi Visconti Kono | PUC-SP
Malú Damázio | ECA/USP
Marcela de Castro Reis | PUC-SP
Marcela de Lima Leite | Cásper Líbero
Mariana Bananal Costa e Silva | UNIUBE
Mariane Roccelo | ECA/USP
Milena Buarque Lopes Bandeira | Mackenzie
Nicole Pires Fusco | Cásper Líbero
Ricardo Rossetto Della Corte Guimarães Pacheco | Cásper Líbero
Talitha Blumke Adde | ESPM
Valentina Neves | PUC-SP
Valesca Pinheiro Zampieri | FFLCH
The selected students must enroll on either October 1 or 2, from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm, at the offices of Oboré (Av. Paulista, 2300 – Ed. São Luis Gonzaga, andar Pilotis). Students who want to adhere to the money-back deal should take a surety cheque in the amount of one month’s minimum wage (R$724).
Money-back deal
To measure the real efforts of each participant, the course works on a “money-back” basis: the students will pay the equivalent of one monthly minimum wage upon enrollment, but the money will be reimbursed at the end of the course if they: 1) participate in all the course days; 2) participate in at least one one-on-one session; 3) produce all the weekly news articles immediately after each course day; 4) get at least one of these articles published in any media outlet with a responsible editor.
Methodology
The course days will observe the following schedule: a 30-minute editorial meeting between the students and the course coordinator; a one-hour lecture by the experts, with no breaks; a 40-minute press conference; and, finally, 30 minutes to review the morning’s events, once again between the students and the coordinator. Afterwards, between 1 pm and 2 pm, the students will write a news article on the topic of the lecture.
The course will also offer, on a weekly basis, one-on-one sessions with journalists from the Ponte group to provide personalized journalistic and writing guidance. These sessions will allow an assessment of the qualities to be developed and the weaknesses to be addressed by each student.
The 1st Course on Journalism and Human Rights is being organized by Conectas in partnership with OBORÉ, Ponte, Abraji (Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism) and IPFD (Institute of Research, Training and Dissemination in Social Public Policies).
