As part of the 'Journalist in Residence' initiative, funded by the EUI Widening Europe Programme, the Max Weber Programme is delighted to welcome Hungarian journalist Flora Garamvolgyi. An investigative reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Hungarian service and a contributing writer for The Guardian, Garamvolgyi brings a decade of experience in foreign affairs journalism.
For Garamvolgyi, working with major news outlets has allowed her to reach a much wider audience, something she believes researchers and academics could use to their benefit. "If you have an expertise, you can definitely use big news outlets as a platform to share information, share your work and your point of view with the public," she said.
Building on this perspective, Garamvolgyi will lead a workshop on 16 October at the EUI focused on the importance of collaboration between academics and journalists. "We will explore how academics and journalists can work together, and why it is important for researchers to interact with the media and share their findings with broader audiences. I would love to encourage all scholars to get in touch with us, to feel empowered to share their knowledge – especially female scholars, who oftentimes believe there is someone else more qualified to speak on their expertise. There isn't," she shared.
At the EUI, Garamvolgyi will also deliver a workshop on media capture, drawing on her personal experience as a journalist in Hungary. "I experienced media capture first hand, not necessarily just in the outlets I worked for, but also with my friends and colleagues in the industry," she noted. "I want to talk about how public media in Hungary was transformed from a platform that spreads useful information to a tool of the ruling party, how this process affected journalists, and the potential implications for other countries in the region."
Beyond the two workshops, Garamvolgyi is also looking forward to exploring new research topics at the EUI, particularly the portrayal of violence against women in media. "Every year, I choose a human rights issue outside my usual foreign affairs related work. This year, I'm investigating how media professionals write about violence against women, the language we use when we touch on this issue, and how we can help victims by sharing vital information."
"It's important to provide crucial information when reporting on this issue, especially in countries where women’s rights are at greater risk," she added, emphasising the heightened vulnerability of women in Hungary, a country that has not joined the Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women.
During the two-week residency, Garamvolgyi will have the opportunity to engage with EUI academics and gain insights into their research. "As a journalist, I am always looking for new topics to write about and to be inspired, and I feel like the EUI is the perfect place to do that."
In looking forward to her time at the Max Weber Programme, Garamvolgyi shares, "I'm excited to expand my network with people at the EUI and give back to the community with the two workshops that I'm doing. I'm hoping it will be informative and inspire them to share the knowledge with the media more often."
This initiative is funded by the EUI Widening Europe Programme. With contributions from the European Union and EUI Contracting States, the programme is designed to strengthen internationalisation, competitiveness, and quality in research in targeted Widening countries, and thus foster more cohesive European Higher Education and Research Areas.