New batch of students at SPJS all set to find new horizons - Foundation Office India
Event Reports
The Director of the SPJS, Subrata Nag Choudhury, introduced the work of KAS and emphasized its focus on the promotion of democratic values and ethics. He further underlined that SPJS and KAS meet in several events throughout the year, of which one is going to be the JSDP partner network meeting in October 2018.
He elaborated on the fact that the SPJS sees its mission in the promotion of English-language newspapers and print media in contemporary India, which faces a shortage of qualified journalists. The deficit is overtly apparent in West Bengal. Mr. Choudhury attributed this to the late introduction of the English language in schools and called for a rethinking in the education sector.
In an interaction with Romina Elbracht (KAS India), the students were asked about their motivations to become journalists. Narendra Marik underlined his passion for English literature and was really impressed by the way journalism helped common people in various ways. Sakshat Chandok said that he loved the process of writing and saw himself as an investigative journalist in the future. Nakshaira Pain said that he dreamt of becoming a sports journalist and would like his passion for writing to help him become a Sky Sports journalist. Diksha Rupasa saw the journalism program as a way to break out of her own naivety and felt the need of reporting on global warming and climate change while Neena Biswas believed that being a journalist was also a way to become a better citizen.
In her remarks, Ms. Elbracht referred to media as the fourth pillar of democracy and answered questions on current topics that the German media dealt with, such as the case of Özil that had been also highlighted in the Indian newspapers. She cited Konrad Adenauer who once said “We all live under the same sky but we don't all have the same horizons” and wished for the aspiring journalists to be able to experience as many horizons as possible and expand them through their work as journalists.
Finally, Mr. Choudhury thanked KAS for a fruitful exchange and a successful partnership that is celebrating its 10th year anniversary in 2018.
