Our collective poem campaign ‘A line for journalism’

We launched the campaign ‘A line for journalism’, an initiative designed to give the possibility to journalists, activists and freedom of speech supporters everywhere in the world to express themselves freely, creating together a collective poem on journalism.

Good journalism is like poetry. It inspires us, moves us, changes us, and ultimately, its words can set us free. This is why we launched ‘A line for Journalism’, a collective poem initiative on journalism and journalists. The title of the poem will be Running from Silence, because too many media professionals, everywhere in the world, are oppressed by censorship, or forced to flee their country to continue doing their job as they feel it should be done.

Whoever is interested in participating in the campaign, adding one line to the poem or sharing its content, can do that via this link: https://www.europeanpressprize.com/a-line-for-journalism/

The power of collective poetry

Journalism is a collective endeavour. It lives in the work of the professionals who, every day, work to tell stories that must be told; in the struggle of those who strive to give journalists adequate protection; and in the eyes and opinions of its many audiences.

Collective (or collaborative) poetry can represent well what journalism needs to be to stay relevant. Its history goes back many centuries, to when poets collaborated with their contemporaries to refine and enhance their poetic skills. Renaissance poetry in France is marked by ‘virtuoso circles’ wherein many professional writers would collaborate with their contemporaries and engage with their predecessors. In modern times, this art was perfected by the Surrealists, which started creating poems composed of entire lines written by several different poets.

Running from the silence of censorship

The title of this collective poem will be Running from Silence, because too many media professionals, everywhere in the world, are oppressed by censorship, or forced to flee their country to continue doing their job as they feel it should be done.

According to the latest UNESCO report, the numbers on censorship and attacks on journalism are constantly growing. From 2016 to the end of 2021, UNESCO recorded the killings of 455 journalists, who either died for their work or while on the job. At the same time, the imprisonment of journalists has reached record highs. New legal measures undermine, instead of bolster, press freedom. Since 2016, dozens of countries have adopted or amended laws and regulations which threaten freedom of expression and press freedom online.

Emanuele Del Rosso, Head of Communications and PR at the Prize: “Our goal is to free the word of journalists. We want to provide them with an outlet to freely express themselves. Whether they operate from war areas, under a regime, or they are in exile, they can submit anonymously and say what they really think and feel. Their word can be freed, through our collective poem.”

Participate in the initiative

This is a collective poem, for a collaborative project. The European Press Prize welcomes organisations that operate in the fields of press freedom, journalism, education, or public figures that would like to help, or contribute with a line and/or an endorsement of the project.

There is no required fee to participate, and the organisers are open to considering all the different uses that can be made of this poem, and having it shown (in its entirety or some of its parts) in different places at different times.

Contact the Head of Communications and PR Emanuele Del Rosso at [email protected] if you are interested in participating in this campaign.