Commission offers 1 million euros to universities to teach journalists about cohesion policy

The aim is to tackle disinformation through better-informed media

The European Commission is looking for universities willing to develop high-quality courses teaching journalism students about the inner workings of the European Union and its Cohesion policy. Although the Commission continuously funds a wide variety of projects aimed at the regional and local level development of European regions, its work remains unknown, unacknowledged, or even misunderstood.

This lack of comprehension has created a fertile ground for the proliferation of fake news and disinformation regarding the role of the EU in people’s lives. This in turn prevents the citizens from being correctly informed and puts them at a disadvantage and confusion in the contemporary political debate field.

It turns out, a lot of the journalists, whose role is to objectively inform the public opinion, are also deficient in their knowledge about the way Cohesion policy works. So, the issue is best solved at the root – help educational institutions teach specialized journalism programmes.

What can the prospective beneficiary do?

The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:

• To improve the level of knowledge, key competences and skills of journalism students regarding both the European Union and EU Cohesion policy;
• To encourage an academic debate regarding the EU and, specifically, Cohesion policy, its results, its role in delivering on the EU's political priorities and on its future;
• To foster quality improvements and innovation in teaching about the EU and about EU Cohesion policy in the context of journalism studies, in particular through enhanced cooperation between educational institutions.

The course curriculum should include:

• The basics of how the EU works;
• How the EU invests in regions and cities, notably via Cohesion policy;
• How to cover and report on EU initiatives and projects with a focus on regional and local levels.

Proposals can be submitted by universities and other educational institutions teaching journalism at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Applicants must be located in an EU Member State and be accredited under the legislation of that country. 

The Commission will cover 95% of the cost of the project, and the total budget amounts to 1 million euros. The deadline for application is 21 April 2022, 13:00 CET. The Commission expects to communicate the results of the call in June 2022.

Further info on the call for proposals you can find at this link.