Sport is a major field of media content production as well as coverage and an important area for building social cohesion. It is also a source of tensions between groups, communities, or even nations. An outcome of the MARS - Media Against Racism in Sport – programme should be that expression of diversity and non-discrimination are used by all sectors of the media as an ongoing angle for any form of media coverage. By applying this approach, it will lead to innovative modes of production of truly inclusive media contents which will/can contribute to foster mutual understanding.

To go towards achieving this outcome, the MARS programme is offering media professionals (journalism students and trainers, journalists, media managers, etc.) the opportunity to participate in
European Media Work Exchanges.

The MARS Media Work Exchanges are a unique opportunity for media professionals, and future ones, to widen the scope of their media practices and contact pools.

Media professionals will have the opportunity to host a media colleague/counterpart and be hosted themselves by a media related organisation in return (training organisations, media, self-regulatory and regulatory bodies, professional unions… ) to exchange professional experience and to produce together with the participating colleague, a common output (training exercises, media reports, case studies, etc.).

To help with the process, the Council of Europe will provide participants the financial and logistics support to travel and work with European Union colleagues in 10-day work exchanges
(5 days as guest / 5 days as host).

There are two ways to participate in the Media Work Exchange programme:

- You can apply directly on behalf of yourself and another participant in European media organisation of your choice if you have already defined a common project.

- Otherwise the Council of Europe will support each motivated applicant to find a possible applicant partner in one of the EU countries.

In any of the 27 member states, apart from your own state, knowing preference will be given to participants coming from priority countries chosen by the MARS joint programme. These are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Any time between October 2011 and December 2012 once you have found someone to partner with; please note that November 2012 will be dedicated to the second/return leg of the 5-day session of the Media Work Exchanges.

  Application form
  Conditions for participation
  Join the MARS Match Making service!
  Outputs
  Download the flyer

For further information or any queries, please contact: mars.crossvisit@coe.int

- Journalism and/or Media Trainer/Teacher/Lecturer,
- Professionals and staff members of regulatory bodies (Press councils, audiovisual regulatory bodies), of media professional unions (of journalists, editors and broadcasters…), of human rights, anti-discrimination and anti-racism bodies, of sport clubs, of sports persons’ unions and of sport associations.



- Managing Editor, Executive Editor, Deputy Managing Editor, Publisher, Editorial Operations Director, etc. belonging to any kind of media support,
- Professionals and staff members of regulatory bodies (Press councils, audiovisual regulatory bodies), of media professional unions (of journalists, editors and broadcasters…), of human rights, anti-discrimination and anti-racism bodies, of sport clubs, of sports persons’ unions and of sport associations, in particular Communication and press officers and managers, public relations officers and managers linked to human rights, anti-discrimination and anti-racism bodies, sport clubs, sports persons’ unions and sport associations.



- Journalist, Photographers, Photo journalist and Journalism Student linked to any kind of media support,
- Communication & press officers and managers, public relations officers and managers linked to human rights, anti-discrimination and anti-racism bodies, sport clubs, sports persons’ unions and sport associations.


Any media professional listed in the application form can apply for any kind of Media Work Exchange. We have indicated on the application who might be best to benefit from the Media Work Exchanges; however arrangements are flexible so feel free to advise.

Output from Media Work Exchanges will have to be produced in pairs. They should reflect the programme’s emphasis on non-discrimination and expression of diversity as angles to media coverage in relation to sport as a global issue (for instance national or international sports events coverage, the economics of sports, sports and social inclusion, sports and culture, labour laws and sports, the migration of sports, etc.)

Even if developed in relation to media sport coverage, the MARS outputs - in the field of journalism & media training and literacy, ethical regulation and editorial management or media production – will have to be conceived with the view of being applicable to other sectors of media coverage.

According to each area of work, various forms of outputs are possible:

- Journalism training or Media literacy exercises

- Journalism training or Media literacy modules

- Exercise or modules mixing journalism training and media literacy

Case Study made of comparative analysis on how non-discrimination and diversity are taken into account in media coverage, answering some or all of the following questions (although not exclusively):

More

Media Cross-Reports (such as an article, TV, video or audio report…) covering sports issues though not exclusively, and considering non discrimination and expression of diversity as an ongoing angle of media coverage.