A post from Marita Tevzadze, who was the first recipient of the ADAMI Media Prize grant for the Arte fellowship in Strasbourg this past month, reporting on the upcoming elections in France on April 23rd. Thanks again to everyone at Arte who made this fellowship possible!

Observing (from) Arte

I first learned about ARTE 10 years ago. Ever since, the orange logo on films, short videos, programs, and other content has always given me a positive message.

That's my first working day in the Arte headquarters:

Thanks to the ADAMI Media Prize, I’m honoured to be in the ARTE headquarters in Strasbourg together with the team of ARTE Journal. This may sound unbelievable, but I’ve been trying to adapt to the idea I would be at Arte since last November, when I was awarded the fellowship. :)

The ARTE Journal is an everyday edition prepared by a French-German editorial team, proposing a European approach to current events. It’s wonderful to work together with a professional and friendly team in the newsroom of ARTE. It’s a very important experience for me to attend the morning and afternoon meetings where editors and journalists discuss current events, search for the right focus, and the best ways to tell the stories.

The THEMA and its team impressed me a lot. They focus on important and sensitive topics. ARTE is mostly a cultural channel also produces investigative films, for example, about whether the World Health Organisation is under the influence of lobbyists.

The technical aspects of TV production are also worth observing; here I can see how a well-equipped TV station runs together with a professional staff. For example, good sound is important, but sometimes it is hard to achieve high quality sound in Georgian TV. Together with filming and editing, graphic design is essential in ARTE. They make sure to give time to do their best to create interesting visual storytelling.

The timing my fellowship makes my experience at Arte even more interesting: There will soon be presidential elections in France which are important for the country but also for the whole European Union. It’s also very important for my country, Georgia, together with another country in the region, Ukraine. These two countries just received visa liberalization with the Schengen area.

Of course, the election is in the center of media attention in France and there is tons of information every day. “If you’re following the news about the presidential elections, you already know everything about us - and not very good things,’ a colleague in ARTE jokes with me with a smile after an evening of debates.

We also had one shooting with the Arte Junior program in a school, connected with the election, and speaking about the elections with the charismatic teacher and children, to see what they think about it.

This experience was very useful for me – but not only for me. When you see something good you have an instinct to share it. I believe there are many things worth sharing in our region. Public broadcasters in our region also have responsibilities.

I’m finishing this blog on the border between Germany and France. Here on the bridge between Strasbourg and Kehl, 2000 French and German people marched to support the idea of the European Union. People were marching in 12 countries and 80 cities of the world at the same time. They asked people to go and vote on election day in France.

#Arte; #AdamiMediaPrize; #FrenchPresidentialElection2017; #PulseOfEurope