Scholarship to attend European journalism conference

By UK Journalism

A final year broadcast student has returned from a European journalism conference in Athens after she won a scholarship to attend.

Lorna Blount went to the ì1st Euro Mediterranean Journalism Instituteî conference that invited 39 journalists from 29 countries and was organised by the Fund for American Studies and the Greek Association for Atlantic and European Co-operation.

She was one of only two UK based journalists to attend the 10 day event, which covered a range of journalistic issues including politics and ethics, and was the only undergraduate there. Lorna applied for the scholarship by sending off her CV and an application form stating how she would benefit from the conference.

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She went to lecturers given by industry experts and gained access to high security government figures.

Lorna said: ìWe had discussions with leading members of the Greek government and even went to the US Deputy Chief Ambassadorís house for dinner.î

Each day was packed with lectures, discussions and talks including one from a writer at The Economist and another from the editor of The Oxford Review.

Lorna said: ìIt was great to meet so many interesting people and make good contacts that Iím sure I can use again in the future. I really enjoyed spending time with people from so many countries and because we spent so much time together we became a friendly community.î

Visiting the Greek Parliament was the highlight of Lornaís trip. She added: ìI enjoyed being able to openly ask key political questions and it was a good experience to speak up in front of other journalists.î

Lornaís interests lie in Broadcast journalism and she says this conference, along with another one she attended in Prague last year, have persuaded her to pursue a career in international journalism once she has graduated.

Lorna added: ìAfter finding out how journalism works in other countries around the world I find it fascinating and I donít want to narrow down my options by concentrating solely on the UK.î

More info
BA (Hons) Journalism
MA International Journalism
The Fund for American Studies
More about the Euro Mediterranean Journalism Institute

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