Hostwriter is an open network that helps journalists easily collaborate across borders. Online since May 2014, we connect more than 3,500 journalists from 130 countries for cross-border collaboration and mutual exchange.
In the past, Hostwriter has provided a virtual space for cross-border journalists to network and connect- but we also aim for those relationships to jump offline into real life. That’s why we had the idea to bring a group of cross-border enthusiasts from all over the world to meet in Warsaw, Poland: to give professional journalists a chance to meet in person and learn more about cross-border methodology and design thinking at our first ever Ambassador Summit.
Join the Hostwriter Ambassador Summit in Warsaw, Poland
This September, we will have the first ever Hostwriter Ambassadors’ Summit in Warsaw, Poland from 25–29 September. We are looking to bring new ambassadors from all over the world to learn about cross border journalism and discuss the future of Hostwriter, with travel and accommodation fully paid.
Are you a mid-career journalist interested in learning about cross-border journalism, networking with like-minded colleagues & helping us prototype new functionalities for Hostwriter in an innovation day fully dedicated to Design Thinking? Or could you recommend a colleague who’d make a great candidate for the summit? We’re still looking specifically for great journalists from under-represented regions, such as Central America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle and Far East.
Applications are open until 30 July:bit.ly/HWAmbassadors
The event is open to current and new members of our network, and as always its free and simple to join Hostwriter: bit.ly/HWregister
What is a Hostwriter Ambassador?
A Hostwriter Ambassador is a working journalist who wants to help spread the word about cross-border journalism and support people in their region connect with others all over the world. This means communicating and collaborating online, but we know that journalists do their best work when they report from the site where the story is breaking. Young and freelance journalists often lack the resources to pay substantial housing costs or pay for expert advice from fixers, especially in underreported regions. But if journalists can help each other with this type of support — and count on getting the same help in return- then we can even the playing ground.
At our Ambassador Summit we are going to imagine together how we can take our growing global network of 3,500 journalists to the next level and ensure that online connections can translate into offline opportunities that help us reach our goal of bringing a more diverse range of voices to field of cross-border investigative journalism.
Image via Dennis Jarvis on Flickr, (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Why Warsaw?
It’s not a coincidence that we chose to hold our first ever summit in Warsaw, Poland. The winners of the 2017 Hostwriter Pitch Prize- a monetary award granted to the top cross-border pitch arising out of the Hostwriter network (and is available to apply for again right now)- was the journalist outlet Outriders. Outriders is currently hosting their own summit, the day before our event and all Hostwriter ambassadors will have the chance to attend and learn about new methods in storytelling in a conference organized for journalists by journalists (learn more about their summit here.)
Outriders is just one of a number of exciting new investigative journalism outlets arising in Europe, and Poland in particular, amidst an atmosphere of increasing political and monetary restrictions on the freedom of the press. We are excited to get together and imagine how journalists can work together across borders despite an atmosphere that can feel competitive and restrictive and continue to provide vital information to the public that is crucial for the functioning of democracies all over the world.
And as we continue to strive for a spirit of transparency and open collaboration, we will share what we come up with in future posts here on Medium.
This article was first published on our Medium channel on 24.07.2018 by Tina Lee, Head of Hostwriter’s Ambassador Network.