JOURNALISM STUDENTS IN NORDIC-RUSSIAN COOPERATION

Lillian Hjort, managing director of the Human Rights Academy, explains that there has been a varied programme, with three days of lectures, practical tasks and discussions.

– The main reason for this cooperation is that the journalism students need basic knowledge about human rights, and cultural understanding, in order to take their role in society seriously.  We have had many discussions, and the most important ones happen in the meetings between the students. The Norwegian and Swedish students are not too familiar with the situation in Russia, and the other way around. It is very valuable to create such meeting points where one can get rid of stereotypes, and see the individuals.

In studio. From the left: Helene Wille Lund from Volda University College and Caroline Nordvall from Södertörns University in Sweden.

The students talk about days that have been both exciting and educational.

 – We know very little about journalism in Russia, and how the media present news stories. We now understand that our medium angle their politics in a Western way, and this is something the Russian students are very aware of. They were therefore afraid that we would look down on them, because they don’t have the same democratic system as us, says student Helene Wille Lund from Volda University College.

Most of the students will meet again in Russia this coming autumn.

– These past days have been a good introduction to how everything works over there. There are some obvious differences when it comes to topics such as freedom of speech and same-sex marriage, says student Caroline Nordvall from Södertörn University in Sweden.

– It is interesting to see how students from different countries look at human rights, and it is also nice to get to know people from different countries, says Lund.