Belarus in Focus 2012: Journalism Competition and Guide for Journalists. The deadline for submissions has been extended to January 27

‘Belarus in Focus 2012’ is the second edition of a competition for journalists writing about Belarus. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2013. Winners will receive monetary prizes of EUR 2,000, EUR 1,000 or EUR 500. All finalists will be invited to attend a two-day workshop in Warsaw in spring 2013. Please see rules and how to enter.

Judges will look for articles that present a new, original side to Belarus and explore the country beyond the label of ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’.

The judging panel will include Mr. Andrei Kolesnikov, Kommersant (Russia), Prof. David Marples, University of Alberta (Canada), Mr. Oliver Money-Kyrle, International Federation of Journalists (UK), and Ms. Yuliya Slutskaya, Solidarity with Belarus Information Office (Belarus).

Last year’s winning articles came from Harper’s Magazine (U.S.), The Independent (U.K.), and Delo (Slovenia).

‘Belarus in Focus’ is held by Solidarity with Belarus Information Office in cooperation with Press Club Polska. Other partners include Belapan, Belarusian Association of Journalists, Civic Belarus, Belarusian Human Rights House in Exile,  "n-ost, the Network for Reporting on Eastern Europe", Office for a Democratic Belarus, Ostgruppen.

At the same time, Solidarity with Belarus Information Office would like to present a new online resource for journalists writing about Belarus: www.belarusforjournalists.info. Here journalists can find contacts, practical tips, and background information, as well as swap stories and repost their articles.

Contact Alexandra Kirby: a.kirby-lepesh@solidarityby.eu