Context, Problem and Questions

Panama Papers or Football Leaks are landmark cross-border investigative projects which try to fix problems of traditional mainstream journalism. But the current limitations of cross-border investigative journalism exposed by critical praxis, show that the global nonprofit investigative network approach is reproducing the same systemic problems that it aimed to address: patriarchal, racist and capitalist power structures thrive within the prevailing platformization of knowledge co-production, and exclude precisely those people from the margins who actually need a voice. Mainstream investigative journalism is an elitist manifestation of the dominant Atlantic 'Reporter' model, with a few selected gatekeepers: news media is captive in technologies and platforms where access is owned and managed by for-profit or non-profit business monopolies reinforcing positions of power.

This year marks the anniversary of 20 years after the first Global Investigative Journalism Conference organised literally in the Global North (Denmark) which lead to the establishing of the Global Network for Investigative Journalism. The promised solidarity network predictably failed into a journalistic globalised neoliberal version of dependency and control. However, 2021 marks 20 years after the Forum Social Mundial was initiated in the Global South (Brasil) and is also the year when the Caravana Zapatista started its reversed invasion of Europe.

Since standardized journalism has invaded so many disciplines without breaking from its limitations, panelists are thus invited to offer reflections on how an inverse invasion would look like: What can Journalism learn from various struggles and strategies of dissent around the globe? How may Epistemologies of the South inspire the Journalisms of the Souths?

Objectives

We aim to develop alternative de-colonial cross-border forms of journalisms and scholar-activism inspired by the Epistemologies of the South.

Initiate the co-creation of Mahalla: a community for Journalisms of the South. Organize participative workshops and master classes to showcase hands-on approaches that will co-create a space and community for Journalisms of the South at the intersection of academia, art, activism and beyond.

Hosted at the Anozero | Bienal de Arte Contemporânea de Coimbra