A Burmese journalist, right, receives video training, filmed by the makers of Burma VJ. Director Anders Ostergaard is pictured second from right, with cameraman Simon Plum

The work of the Thomson Foundation in training on the ground lay behind the internationally-acclaimed documentary nominated for an Oscar award.

The movie Burma VJ has already won more than 40 awards worldwide and tells the story of the video journalists working undercover in Burma who brought extraordinary pictures of the uprising in September 2007 to the world. It was a strong contender for Best Documentary Feature at Hollywood’s 2010 Academy Awards.

But the extraordinary risks faced by this band of journalists began before violence broke out in their home country. For they were smuggled out of Burma to be trained in a secret operation by Thomson Foundation senior consultant Peter Hiscocks, pictured right.

Peter, a highly-experienced journalist who has worked for the Thomson Foundation for thirteen years, was working in Oslo with the Democratic Voice of Burma, supporting the launch of a new weekly television programme beamed by satellite directly into Burma.

When the question of the quality of the material being smuggled out of the country arose, it was agreed that he should go to Thailand to train the secret cameramen (and women) on a one-to-one basis.

He travelled to Bangkok and would-be video journalists were smuggled into Thailand to meet him. Each new VJ was given a small but high-quality camcorder and taught the basics of camerawork, film grammar and democratic journalism before slipping back into their homeland.

But, as this trailer for Burma VJ reveals, no-one knew at the time just how significant their role would turn out to be.

He then moved north to Chiang Mai where he trained the staff at the DVB secret headquarters and helped the organisation move to a new building to avoid police harrassment.

The training work was filmed by Danish film maker Anders Ostergaard and Peter acted as interviewer to uncover the problems of working as a journalist in such a closed country as Burma. Strict secrecy and anonymity had to be observed throughout the project.

But a few months later events overtook the project as the monks in the country began to stand up to the military dictators. And now, because the video journalists were competent and well-organised, they could get their extraordinary footage of events out for the world to see.

Said Peter: “These are extremely brave men and women, who I know only by their codenames. They put their lives at risk on a daily basis.

“Some are now in prison serving long sentences. All of them were dedicated to bringing freedom to their homeland and it was an honour and a privilege to work with them.”

Burma VJ is a moving piece of work which skilfully links the real footage with carefully staged realistic reconstructions. The film serves to remind all journalists just how important – and dangerous – telling the truth can really be. It is also a brilliant example of documentary film-making, worthy of its many international accolades.

Added Peter: “I believe the training the Thomson Foundation did shows the importance of work on the ground. We gave the VJs of Burma the tools and they did the job.

“And they will continue to do it.”

• Peter Hiscocks is a former former radio and television journalist, and award-winning documentary producer/director for BBC TV. He is now freelance and has trained with the Thomson Foundation in 32 countries since 1987.

• The Oscar for Best Documentary Feature went to The Cove, a film about the secret slaughter of dolphins in a Japanese town. Burmese actor Kyaw Thu said after the awards that those involved in Burma VJ should be proud to be nominated, even though they missed out on an award. Burma VJ is a film by Anders Østergaard, in collaboration with The co-operative and Dogwoof films.

A scene from the internationally-acclaimed Burma VJ. Picture courtesy of Dogwoof films

The flagship Future Leaders course will see some of today’s most successful media executives from print and broadcast working with course participants from several countries to focus on the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Executives featuring on the course include Greg Dyke – former BBC Director General, David Mannion – Editor-in-Chief, ITV News, Peter Bazalgette – media consultant, non-executive chairman of two of Sony’s UK television divisions and the executive behind prgrammes such as Ready, Steady, Cook and Changing Rooms, and Vikki Heywood – Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company

Future Leaders is one of five courses announced by the Thomson Foundation. Other courses are:

Television Skills. Past participants now occupy some of the top slots in television. This year’s Television Skills course has been updated to include the next wave of cutting-edge technology and convergence approach.

Print Skills. Print remains one of the most influential media sectors worldwide. This course is designed for journalists who have the passion to keep it that way.

Online Journalism. Fast-paced, multimedia and hands-on, this course will equip journalists, bloggers and professional communicators with the tools and confidence they need to thrive in an online media world.

Radio Skills. THE course for radio professionals. Covers in-depth interview, recording and editing techniques, delivered by trainers with a reputation for excellence across the world.

Photojournalism Skills. Working as individuals and as part of a newsroom team, this month-long course will take the skills of photographers working with newspapers, magazines and online to the next level. A book will be produced of photographs taken during the course.

Said Tim Rogers, Head of Training: “The Thomson Foundation continues to innovate to meet the needs of journalists from diverse cultures and disciplines. These courses reflect that spirit and the speed of change within the media world.

“Our course leaders and guest trainers bring with them a wealth of international experience. For participants, these courses are also a unique opportunity to share their experiences with, and learn alongside, journalists from several nations.”

All courses are scheduled to last four weeks and will be at UK locations. Details for some courses are still to be finalised. Journalists interested in participating are advised to contact the Thomson Foundation to be eligible for priority booking.

For more information click on the links above or contact the Thomson Foundation. Email: timr@thomsonfoundation.org

Thomson assignments are challenging at the best of times, but when they are carried out at short notice against seemingly impossible deadlines they become even more ‘interesting’ into the bargain.

“You’ve got three weeks,” said Thomson Foundation Head of Training, Tim Rogers, “to help redesign a weekly newspaper in Nigeria and convert it into a national daily. Oh, and by the way, can you leave next weekend?”

You’ve got to be joking, right? Well, no, actually. In the event, departure was delayed by a week and then by another couple of days because of a visa wrangle, but I arrived in Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja, with effectively 16 days to complete the above assignment for The Peoples Daily (without an apostrophe) newspaper.

Deadlines are meat and drink to a daily newspaper professional, but many publishing ventures have foundered on timescales that proved too ambitious. And this looked like one of them. The Thomson Foundation’s client however – Peoples Media Ltd – was adamant that its deadline to switch to daily publication must be met. There was no alternative.

It was clear from the first day of my arrival that The Peoples Daily was some way short of its ambition to produce a 48-page newspaper, seven days per week.

The right technology, staffing and organisational structures were not yet in place, for a start. Nor had there been any moves to initiate a major cultural shift from the relatively relaxed style of a weekly paper to the more-focused, intense and constant demands of a daily. What was in place, however, was an enthusiastic and highly-motivated editor in Ahmed Shekarau, pictured below, and a team of journalists with enormous potential.

Friday and Saturday were the main production days for the weekly newspaper and this gave me one final opportunity to observe the newspaper’s production process at close quarters before its switch to daily publication. Working alongside the editor, I also started examining redesign options for The Peoples Daily.

Apart from the editorial challenges in providing a wider variety and better quality of content, this assessment revealed that the paper faced obstacles on several other fronts before it could switch successfully to daily publication. These included:

• Improving the internal computer network system
• Increasing the newspaper’s internet bandwith
• Streamlining and strengthening the page production process
• Improving picture content and reproduction quality

The Peoples Media Board approved immediate development proposals in all of these areas and, concurrently, work was started on a basic redesign. There was no time to do a thorough appraisal and provide options: it was simply a question of improving on what was there, using available typefaces and examining methods of improving picture quality.

The redesign was carried out on the ‘live’ paper, using actual content and pictures for the first daily edition which appeared on Monday, November 30th, right on deadline.

The publishers were persuaded against seven-day publication by technical and resource limitations. But the new Monday to Friday daily publication was well received both internally and externally, with considerable interest being expressed by new readers and potential new advertisers alike.

And the Thomson Foundation was delighted to have assisted at the birth of Nigeria’s newest daily newspaper.

• Charles McGhee is a former daily newspaper editor who now runs his own media consultancy.

Leading environment journalist and Thomson Foundation consultant TIM HIRSCH reports

Emerging from Lagos airport into the smoggy morning heat, the drive across the lagoon to the island housing the smarter parts of the city brought home the vulnerability of this megacity to the impacts of climate change.

At the lagoon’s edge, whole neighbourhoods of rickety houses built on stilts and connected by perilous walkways stretch far out into the water.

It won’t take much sea level rise to make refugees out of these people.

Helping Nigerian journalists to make sense of the complex and bewildering world of climate change politics in the run-up to the UN Copenhagen conference was my brief for the two-day course at the British Council’s office in Lagos, sponsored by FCMB bank.

Facing this reality of life on the edge – quite literally – and persuading Nigerians that anything meaningful to them could be decided at Copenhagen was going to be a hard sell.

The lively bunch of journalists on my course had a healthy dollop of cynicism about the whole UN process. This didn’t improve when I explained that the major source of carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in Nigeria is from projects to prevent the widespread practice of gas-flaring in the oilfields – a practice that blights local communities as well as creating about a third of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Gas-flaring has also been declared illegal by Nigeria’s courts – but, for most companies, the cheapest option is just to pay the fines and carry on flaring.

One of my students looked at me incredulously: “So let me get this straight. The UN is allowing these companies to earn money for not doing something that is illegal?” I nodded. “So are we going to start paying cocaine dealers for not dealing?” There was no answer to that one.

Having spent much of the last 12 years reporting on the post-Kyoto climate process, explaining it to an audience in Africa brings home just how marginalised this continent has been – and how sceptical its journalists are entitled to be.

For example, of more than 1900 projects approved under the CDM to bring investment in emission-abating technologies to the developing world, just 36 are in Africa. China, India, Brazil and Mexico have the lion’s share.

“Why don’t we have more? Don’t they trust us?” Again, no answer.

Despite the scepticism, there was a burning curiosity on the part of these journalists to understand better what the arguments at Copenhagen are about, because the process has almost zero visibility in the Nigerian media.

The discussion at Copenhagen about rewarding developing countries that look after their forests (so-called REDD mechanisms) potentially opens up a new source of income for many African countries from the coffers of Northern governments.

As I run through the mechanics and proposals to my Lagos class, they exchange knowing smirks.

When I ask what they are smiling about, they explain that the idea of these new funds getting anywhere near projects that actually protect the forests and climate – as opposed to politicians’ pockets – is so remote from everyday reality as to be laughable.

Despite the scepticism, there was a burning curiosity on the part of these journalists to understand better what the arguments at Copenhagen are about, because the process has almost zero visibility in the Nigerian media.

Whatever doubts there are about the UN process, this group was well aware of the threat that climate change poses to millions in Nigeria, from the vulnerable low-lying communities of the Niger Delta to the arid Sahel region of the North, facing encroaching desertification.

But for poor Nigerians struggling right now to eke livelihoods out of oil-wrecked coastal ecosystems and parched, degraded landscapes, the time horizons of 2020 and 2050 being discussed at Copenhagen for cutting emissions mean little.

The puzzled frowns confronting me in the British Council training room, as I explain the intricate world of UN climate talks, are easy to understand.

If the climate negotiators really want to engage Africa in this process, they have a long way to go.

Please leave your tribute to, or share a memory of, Russell Lyne by completing the comments form on this page

The Thomson Foundation regrets to announce that Russell Lyne, former Head of Regional Development, has died aged 65.

Russell first worked for the Foundation as a trainer in 1995, later joining full time as a project manager and training consultant.

His work took him to South Africa, Botswana, India, Vietnam, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Bahrain, Qatar, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Kasakhstan, Romania and Bulgaria. Widely respected wherever he went, Russell’s engaging personality, warmth and professionalism are remembered with particular fondness in Eastern Europen by the many journalists he personally trained.

Before joining the Thomson Foundation, Russell had a long and impressive career in journalism, spanning newspapers, radio and television. After working as night news editor for the Western Mail, the daily newspaper for Wales, between 1976 and 1978, he formed his own freelance news agency before joining the BBC as chief news assistant for BBC Radio Wales in 1982.

Russell went on spend to a year as a producer for BBC Radio Four’s Today programme in 1983. He later became a senior producer for BBC Radio Wales, leaving to join HTV as news editor in 1987, where he eventually became programme controller of news and sport.

Russell had been in poor health after suffering a stroke over two years ago. He leaves a wife, Gloria, and their two daughters, Kate and Clare.

• Read a personal tribute to Russell Lyne by Thomson Foundation CEO, Janet Boston.

• For information regarding Russell’s funeral, contact Tim Rogers at the Thomson Foundation: timr@thomsonfoundation.org

Like many of you, I won’t forget the first time I met Russell Lyne … except I didn’t. It was over the phone and he was chuckling about sending me to a conference before even officially joining the organisation.

“Welcome to the xxxx world of journalism training,” he said. “And, if you thought the media was bad for competition (a viper’s nest), you’ve not seen anything yet.”

I can’t go into much more detail, but – needless to say – he dispatched me, with cloak and dagger, to carry out the mission.

Thinking back, I am not sure how many missions we undertook or plotted together, but what many of you will recognise is the fun he brought to the work. It was a trait that masked a deep and serious commitment to building the skills of both the media and all those using communication for change, be it in Botswana, where he helped develop the TV station while also trying to spread awareness of HIV/AIDS, or in Ukraine, where he used chat shows to break down tension across the border with Poland.

In fact, no idea was too ‘out of the box’ for him to consider and it was this insight that gave his proposal writing an edge and helped secure many of our past projects.

Time after time I meet people  from Asia, Africa and the Middle East who tell me, quite unprompted, that he was one of the best trainers they ever had. Apparently Russell’s energy bounced off the training room walls either with pleasure that the group were responding or with complete irritation at their lack of enthusiasm.

Despite his own passion to train, he was equally committed to developing and recognising the skills of others – snapping up talent wherever he spotted it and driving the idea that we may not be the biggest but we could be the best!

Importantly, he recognised the value of local knowledge and was not afraid to try different approaches in consolidating partnerships with old and new networks.

It was this thinking that positioned us as the lead organisation in our biggest contract with the EU. And how proud he would have been to know that Thomson was involved in a Berlin training project, based on his model, 20 years after the wall came down and nearly 15 years after he first started working in Eastern Europe.

I was lucky to see Russell during his last weeks in hospital. As ever he wanted to know everything that was going on – what work was coming up; who was doing it and why so-and-so wasn’t doing it.

I told him I’d been to Highway Africa at the Rhodes University School of Journalism and reminded him that his quote: ‘Every journalist has a novel locked up in them – it should stay that way!’ was there for posterity on one of the walls. Did he still believe this? “Oh yes!” came the reply.

Russell’s stories could have filled more than one novel, but he wasn’t keen on the media’s obsession with itself. What mattered, he believed, was its power to tell stories.

I, like all who knew Russell, will miss him greatly. But at least he is now free from the pain that has been a daily trial for him over the last years. I can’t list the many condolences which the Foundation has already received from around the world – we too send our thoughts to his family at this sad time.

• Leave a message of condolence, or share a personal memory of Russell Lyne, on our special tribute page

She was among 80 journalists who gathered in the German capital to explore the changing face of the media in Eastern Europe over the last 20 years and the supporting role of institutions like the EU.

During the four-day conference, journalists looked to the future of the European Neighbourhood Journalism Network, which has been hailed a great success in strengthening links between journalists across the EU countries.

Said Yana: “It was a privilege to be here in Berlin at such an interesting time. We got to meet colleagues from across our region and were able to exchange ideas as well as to report on the colourful events here in Berlin.”

After two days of conference activities, the journalists picked up their notebooks and cameras to record the Berlin Wall anniversary. The Thomson Foundation, a driving force behind the network, was on hand to provide training and mentoring for the journalists.

Recommendations from the event will be announced over the next few weeks. More information on the network’s activities and the Berlin Conference can be found on the European Nieghbourhood Journalism Network website.

Related story: European journalists unite at Berlin Wall anniversary

The man on the plane is adamant: “You will never make people in Nigeria care about climate change.”

We are flying to Kano – a city of sheep, goats, horses and ten million people – to impart the basics of climate change to local journalists. It’s part of a British Council project called Climate UN covered: The future of our planet uncovered. Everything you ever wanted to know about climate change, Kyoto and Copenhagen. In five days.

So far the runes haven’t been optimistic. The sentiments of my travelling acquaintance are echoed by the journalists who show up for the launch. We know what sells, they say, and it isn’t global warming, environment or climate change. What’s more, no-one in the West is taking responsibility for it, so why should we care?

In the light of such enthusiasm, I opt for the Marine maxim ‘faint heart never won fair maiden’. Actually its ruder than that, but even the sanitised version is enough to pitch me into battle to prove everyone wrong. Kano would become a centre of excellence for climate change journalism no matter what.

‘What’ is soon clear. No one understands the jargon. They have heard the terms but their meaning is up there with the clouds of carbon monoxide. We begin, and much drawing and storytelling later we are slightly more enlightened.

The journalists are smart and willing, but ‘the greenhouse effect’ in a part of the world which rarely falls below 22 degrees is a hard sell. I begin the feel a certain sympathy for the conspiracy theorists among us. Their faces suggest this climate change stuff is yet one more western plot to stop Africa developing; to limit Nigeria’s wealth; to keep the people down. But, being a generous bunch, they say nothing and listen on.

It takes the guest appearance of Dr Abdul Auda to convert the doubters. A brilliant presentation from a man dedicated to bringing the reality of climate change to fellow Nigerians turns the local drought, creeping desert and dust storms from climate change theory to fact.

Strengthened by conversion we descend on the village of Kwa, where the desert is creeping in with the speed of an incoming tide.

Malam Josin, who looks about 80 but is probably closer to 60, draws his donkey to a halt to talk. He knows all about change … he’s been battling with it for 20 years. Late rains, short rains, crop failure, having to sell his animals for food, watching the village young go to town for work – he’s seen it all. But is climate change to blame? His good eye takes on a philosophical glint as he looks towards the heavens. “It’s from God,” he says. “Nothing we can do.”

We move on to talk to a couple of men splintering one of the few mature trees that have survived the lack of water and thinning soil. They work with tools which wouldn’t look out of place in the Stonehenge museum. This land is part of a government reserve – trees are protected – but slivered wood buys fertiliser and that helps the crops. A bit … if it rains.

We walk over the dusty soil. Dr Audu gestures to the landscape. “To be sustainable this place needs to be cloaked in bush at a density of 25 per cent,” he laments.  Today it has been measured at ten per cent and thinning.

Back to the shelter of the British Council to paint pictures through words that will convey the reality  of life. Surely there is someone, perhaps an editor in search of a campaign, prepared to take on the cause of 140 million Nigerians who are being effected by changing climate. Someone prepared to take the long view.

The catalyst for change will have to come from the band of nine journalists who have stuck with us. It’s their job to get the word out and try to prod those in power into action. They leave promising to fight for the cause.

I hope they do. I’d hate my friend from the plane to be proved right, especially as he turned out to be in the oil business.

During the four-day conference, hosted by the Foundation’s European Neighborhood Journalism Network, journalists, trainers and free-media champions will explore the changing face of the media in Eastern Europe over the last twenty years, and the supporting role of institutions like the EU.

Most of the reporters heading for Berlin have been active in the ENJN over the last year, filming and reporting from Kosovo, Algeria, Brussels and elsewhere. Berlin provides a chance for them to meet, some for the first time, and help map out the network’s future.

During the final two days of the conference, participants will report on the commemorative events around Berlin. The Thomson Foundation will  be on hand to provide mentoring, support and training.

Said Thomson Foundation training and development officer David Quinn: “This event is a great opportunity for journalists to come together from across the European Neighbourhood area whilst producing something practical for their editors,”

“We have been training these journalists for a year now and feel they are ready to move forward as a group and look at how the network can further support the development of journalism amongst the EU’s neighbours.”

A journalism training programme is running alongside the ENJN conference. More than 230 experienced journalists and editors from 16 neighbourhood countries are taking part in week-long materclasses focusing on print, broadcast and on-line skills.

The ENJN is operated for EuropeAid by an external consortium under the management of the Thomson Foundation. Consortium partners are the European Journalism Centre (Netherlands), the International Federation of Journalists (Belgium), Management Partners (UK) and BBJ Consult (Germany). For more information, go to the European Journalism Network.

Photo credit: The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s unmistakable symbol of unity, courtesy of Werkunz1/Flickr

As the flip chart filled with an ever-increasing list of dangers, threats and resource issues, we began to realise just how tough is to be a journalist in the Niger Delta.

Martin Huckerby and I were running a five-day course for journalists in Lagos. And although we were in the comfort of a hotel, there was no escaping the challenges faced by our group. How do you report safely from an area that’s home to gun-toting militants?

As one reporter told us: “I’m not insured to go to the scene when a pipeline is sabotaged. I have to do it on the phone.” Others turned out regardless, but put flak jackets on their wish list.

The course, sponsored by Nigeria LNG, a gas company, had opened with a glittering array of the country’s senior media stars in attendance. The morning of speeches brought many comments about the vibrancy of the Nigerian media, but also self-criticism about media standards.

Our challenge was to offer advanced skills training, but also to open the door to a more attractive way of selling stories to readers, viewers and listeners. Many stories here begin with the words:  “The FG (Federal Government) said …” Our aim was to inspire journalists to produce more people-centred stories.

So, with the help of UNICEF and without an FG spokesperson in sight, we designed a field trip to see street kids rescued through a football project. Real stories, real pictures, real actuality.

A group of boys with amazing life stories were on offer at the training ground. The director was a media gift – articulate, passionate and helpful.

 But what amazed our group most was the lack of restrictions. Yes, they could talk to anyone, yes, everyone was happy to be filmed or recorded, yes they had time, yes they could choose the approach they took.

But the freedom took some of the group out of their comfort zone, and – with so many choices – they fell back on choosing the official line.

Twenty four hours on, the group had the opportunity to review all the reports. Here was the opportunity to judge for themselves which approach would most appeal to their readers, viewers and listeners.

Although only a handful of the print reports majored on the boys’ personal stories, the group preferred those which did.  And they  unanimously decided they preferred the people-led approach adopted in second of the two TV reports that follow …

Spot the difference: In the video above, the TV journalists used their usual techniques. Helen Scott then worked with the group to take a more people-centred approach.

In the video below, the same story is told through one young man’s experience, using more of his interview, letting the pictures breath and making the commentary less intrusive for the viewer.

• The course’s sponsor was Ifeanye Mbanefo, the corporate communications manager, for Nigeria LNG, an ex-reporter on one of the country’s most respected papers, and a passionate believer in continuing training for journalists.

He had no editorial agenda, he told us, he just wanted to inspire journalists to believe they can do it better. And if just one of the group went on to practice what had been taught, and cascade it down, he’d be happy.

Our inboxes show that a number already are. And we do know how grateful most of them were to have the opportunity of training, some for the first time.