Call for journalists and reporters from Ukraine to participate in the implementation of Colmena – the mobile digital toolbox for journalistic production and distribution  

Project timeframe October 2022 – March 2023 

What is Colmena? 

Colmena is a digital toolbox that gives journalists the possibility to produce and share content from their smartphones or other digital devices (computer/laptop). The project was launched by DW Akademie and its media partners in 2021, initially as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But Colmena does not only help to remain productive during lockdowns at home: the toolbox can be used by journalists work in war conditions, work without a physical office structure, from temporary shelters or doing field reporting.  

What are the main functions of the app? 

Colmena bundles all essential tools for resilient media productions in just one application. With the secure and free of charge open-source software you can: record, edit, do remote audio interviews, live-stream, meet and plan with your team, share files and publish from almost any digital device. The “audio” focus makes it especially relevant for radio broadcasters and podcasters. It can also help existing media outlets to build new and secure relations with reporters and civil society correspondents on the ground, providing safe channels to communicate and share material 24/7. 

Learn more about Colmena

How would our collaboration look like? 

We invite you to become part of creating a practical and sustainable digital infrastructure for collaborative journalism. As a team of four, together with our regional coordinator you will: 

• test and provide feedback of the beta version of the software app, 
• contribute to the localisation of Colmena in the Ukrainian media landscape, 
• produce and share content with other early users, 
• receive training to become a multiplier of the toolbox with your media, 
• become a future multiplier of the toolbox in Ukraine and train other journalists in Ukraine how to use Colmena 

The workload of the collaboration is 2-3 days per month and would be remunerated with a daily fee of 100€. 

What are the benefits for participating journalists? 

Joining the co-creation process of Colmena will extend you journalistic skills and make you a proficient user and promoter of a practical toolbox. You will develop new practical capacities for your personal work. Yet the new knowledge set makes you also interesting as a team builder for journalistic and investigative projects. As stated above, your participation will be remunerated and as a multiplier you will be eligible for the continued implementation of Colmena with new users. 

Who can apply? 

Eligible are Ukrainian journalists working full-time or freelance with Ukrainian media outlets. who: 

• speak and write in Ukrainian and English, 
• have a minimum of 5 years’ experience as field reporter or correspondent, 
• are interested to test and integrate new technical tools in their workflows, 
• have experience and/or interest training other journalists in the use of digital tools, 
• enjoy teamwork and believe in collaborative journalism and open technologies. 

How should I apply? 

If this sounds to you as a match, please send us a CV and a letter of motivation in English by indicating the subject “Colmena App Trainer and Ambassador Ukraine” to dw-akademie.ukraine.eu-projects@dw.com.  

Please tackle the following questions in your motivation letter (one page max): 

• What do I do as a journalist? What does a typical workday look like? 
• What are the media outlet(s) I am currently working with? What kind of stories do they cover? What formats do they use?  

• Why is Colmena interesting to me? What kind of stories would I like to tell using it? Please describe the situation when you need such a tool in your daily work.  

 

Please make sure your Letter of interest reaches us not later than 19 September 2022.