The innovative aspect of the SDGs Journalism Reporting (SDGsJR) project is firstly the incorporation and focus given on sustainable development goals on journalism reporting. It is a program based on the evidence which places free and independent media at the core for sustainable development. Its aim is unique as it places skills and knowledge on sustainable development at the core of high-quality journalism and its impact on government policies and public awareness. By learning how to monitor specific indicators on SDGs, compelling stories can be developed by journalists and therefore decision makers, civil society and the public can be strongly influenced.

The project was launched in November 2019 and it will be implemented within the next three years.

Media is an important stakeholder in regard to societies reaching the goals of development – both as a contributor and a beneficiary. Notwithstanding, the Communication and Media studies curriculum in the Asian HEIs seems to not successfully match with the skills required for effective sustainable development reporting in order to deliver the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, the new courses will respond to the need for modernization of curricula in journalism and media reporting in the PC-HEIs, the changing character of journalist education with a focus on sustainable development as well as the need for strong journalistic and investigative ICT-based skills that recognize the strong correlation between a free, independent and pluralistic media system and the process of sustainable development. The curriculum content is designed to instill the skills and level of data literacy necessary to produce both short data stories on a deadline as well as longer in-depth stories that explain underlying development challenges facing the region through data and digital storytelling. By choosing what is in a story, how the story is told, and the diversity of stories, journalists and editors have the capacity to enhance or limit the information people will use to form opinions and make decisions.

 

The principal activity will be the creation, testing and adaptation of a 6-month journalism reporting course, partially online partially face-to-face, that will be a collection of programs and qualifications designed to help prepare journalists, analysts and journalism students for working in a changing environment where the challenges of domestic developmental concerns are of paramount importance. The course will be based on an exhaustive needs’ analysis and a real-life transnational approach based on echange of best practices. For this reason, the teaching/learning process will include mobility of academic personnel for capacity building between Programme and Partner HEIs. The final result will be the incorporation of the course as the core component in the final year of a bachelor’s degree programme in journalism or as a module in a master’s course in journalism or offered as independent programme with a total of 40 ECTS. It will offer concrete tools to implement knowledge on SDGs in the working environment.

Another important activity of the project will be the development of SDGs Research Units in the HEIs that will provide relevant equipment and free access to information, statistics and tools for data processing, analysis and monitoring of indicators to track progress on SDGs. The access and exchange of important information for relevant stakeholders will be the result of a partnership built throughout the project and that will include journalists, researchers, officials, subject experts and subject stakeholders in order to achieve the targets of 2030 Agenda.

Moreover, the development of an online digital reporting platform will help initiating and support the idea of lifelong learning and will strengthen links between academia and labor market. This platform will provide a virtual learning environment for the course and a forum of exchange of information, upload of critical SDGs data, and best practices among journalists of Programme and Partner Countries. It will also allow input from experts and scientists to be published on the platform. There will also be development of vocational courses for the academic staff in charge of offering the journalism reporting courses well as capacity building for the academic staff of the rest of Faculty staff. The increased number of qualified journalists and journalism graduates will

effectively address the gap in skills set required for professional media reporting on SDGs. Innovative teaching methodology and use of ICT technologies will contribute to the use and process of data for a precise evaluation on progress on targets on SDGs. Vocational courses for academic staff will enhance significantly the number of highly qualified staff in the field of Journalism and Media Studies and the prestige and ranking of the Asian HEIs. The creation of Research Units will contribute to the modernization of the HEIs infrastructure and the strengthening of partnership for achievement of SDGs for the 2030 Agenda.

To conclude, the strengthened partnership and created synergy between academics, journalists and other relevant stakeholders, will be of paramount value for creating high-quality reporting, make SDGs a priority in the national agenda and raise awareness of the general public.