The Police, Serving and Protecting?
Time and again, headlines bring attention to violence committed by police officers. In 2022, only in Austria, over 300 suspected cases of excessive police violence were registered. They report of racist attacks, radical right-wing chat groups and violent actions against climate protesters. An esprit of corps within those groups often hinders mutual control. On the one hand, people affected therefore have hardly any chance to have their cases independently resolved; and on the other hand, colleagues slowly undermine the reputation of good police officers. What change do we need to see?
Lawsuits Jeopardising Democracy
SLAPPs – strategic and abusive lawsuits aiming at intimidating and halting critical coverage or activities by environmental or human rights NGOs. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. Sometimes, their aim is not even to succeed in court. Rather, their purpose is to prohibit critical public participation, one of the building blocks of democracy. Behind the suing parties, we often see financially powerful companies, lobby groups or political parties and organisations who have more money on their side than the defendants—so much more that they can put up with losing the case. The lawsuit, or just threatening to file one, aims at intimidating the other party. After abundant political efforts at European level, in spring 2024, the EU adopted a directive to protect people affected. Its implementation requires action by the individual member states.
Rivers Taking Legal Action.
In 2008, Ecuador recognised the rights of Mother Nature “Pachamama” in its constitution. In 2017, New Zealand’s parliament attributed to the Whanganui River the rights of ownership of its fish, plants, water and ground. Nature is no longer just surrounding us, nature is now with us. Ecosystems can become legal entities and they will claim their due: Ecocide as a criminal offence. We can observe the same steps being taken in Columbia, Bolivia, Spain and Ireland. At some point in the future, we will not be able anymore to take advantage of our planet’s buffet of raw materials. At eye level with flora and fauna: What does this mean for biodiversity, for our lifestyle, for our looting growth-driven economy? For our role in this world in the light of a fundamental change of paradigm?
Flamingos in the desert. How to make a magazine.
Designing a magazine refers to a highly fascinating field of visual design remaining stunningly vivid even in the digital era. Swiss-based magazine Reportagen does not advocate for quick coverage but for journalistic craft and compelling stories. The magazine spares photos completely. Zurich-based design studio Moiré established a strong brand providing an independent reading experience for this purpose. Illustrations, infographics and a custom-designed font for Reportagen add to and complete the magazine’s texts and underlying concept: Creating tension, diving into detail, maintaining the reader’s attention and shining a light on the sideshow. In 2013, the project was awarded the Design Prize Switzerland. Marc Kappeler from Moiré speaks about the magazine’s development and other projects that his design studio works on.
A Match for a Revolution: Can Sports Move the World?
As football mania reaches its fever peak in the run up to the European Football Championships and important national and international elections, we put forth the question: Can sports change our society? Learn how athletes can impact the realm of politics and society and join us on our quest to discover positive and negative examples. Are athletes obliged to act like role models and to be politically active or can they simply practice their sport? To what extent can sports act like a game changer?
Atlas of Globalisation.
The planet is at its limits, new viruses temporarily paralyse entire countries and the divide between rich and poor is growing. In 2003, Le Monde diplomatique published the first Atlas of Globalisation. It set the bar for journalistic cartography. A comprehensive and vivid collection containing over 200 innovative graphics shows what globalisation stands for in the 21st century: for the freedom of movement of people and goods, for political participation, for social progress and international communication from San Francisco to Kinshasa.
Eight editions and over 20 years later, this small exhibition is based on the current Atlas of Globalisation labelled “Ungleiche Welt” (Unequal World) and showcases different types of graphics in their up-to-date version. This exhibition was created for Journalismusfest 2023 and in collaboration with Le Monde diplomatique / Berlin. This year it will open its doors as an extended version.
A Villa in Kitzbühel, Companies on Cyprus.
The whistleblower hands over the secret data to the reporter whilst dusk shrouds the alley in darkness just like the hood that blankets his face. Investigative research makes us imagine quite adventurous scenes. But do these actually reflect reality? Also the #RotenbergFiles began with leaked information and were then published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in German magazine Spiegel, Austrian daily newspaper Standard, German public-service broadcaster ZDF and Swiss Tamedia Gruppe: We are talking 50,000 documents from the environment of oligarch brothers and Putin confidants Arkadi and Boris Rotenberg. For the first time, they show in detail how both of them managed to protect and conceal their wealth from sanctions – also in Kitzbühel. Antonio Baquero, Timo Schober and Maria Retter will tell the adventurous story behind this research and how investigative research of such scale is actually conducted: How do you track down concealed assets? Why are such disclosures important? Why do people hide their assets in Austria and who are their accessories?
Exchange with Austrian Network for Climate Journalism
The network for climate journalism Netzwerk Klimajournalismus is a cross-media initiative. Its aim is to serve as a hub for journalists and media professionals who (intend to) work on topics surrounding the climate and ecological crisis. This event provides an opportunity for people interested to learn more about the way the network operates, to engage in conversation, and to network.
The Fundamentals of Climate Journalism
Numerous scientists agree: Combined with the extinction of species, climate change is the biggest and most pressing crisis of the century. But does media coverage live up to its scale? How to report without triggering fatalism or resignation? And how to tackle this topic beyond the borders of departments?
This workshop aims to brush up scientific foundations of the climate crisis and to learn explanatory approaches from the realm of Psychology and Communication Studies that expose why the scale of this subject contradicts media logics.
Investigating the Right Fringe
On January 10th 2024, a release shook Germany to the core. In their research labelled “Geheimplan” (Secret Plan), Correctiv published information about a meeting of high-ranking AfD politicians, neo-Nazis and well-financed entrepreneurs that took place in November 2023 in Potsdam, Germany. Content of this meeting: planning the displacement of millions of people from Germany. Following the release, nationwide demonstrations against the political right have taken place. Also in Austria, the new right scene, adherents of the Identitarian movement and their political connections with the Austrian FPÖ have been investigated for decades. Journalists remain firm in following these stories with their thorough research; and time and time again, they make a contribution to reveal right-wing structures. On this panel, we shed light on the challenges surrounding investigating the right fringe and the risks they might entail from different angles.
