Share the story that matters: webinars from Blue Peace Central Asia

Share the story that matters: webinars from Blue Peace Central Asia

The Blue Peace Central Asia initiative is looking for writers and photographers to tell the world how turning competition over water into opportunities for collaboration, can lead to peaceful and sustainable societies.

Selected authors will receive training on journalism, writing and photography from international photojournalist and blogger Petro Kotzé, author of the blog www.50liters.com. Two webinars will cover story preparation, interviewing, photography skills and writing skills. Petro will review the selected students’ stories and photos and provide written feedback on their work.

Petro Kotzé has been working in the media industry for over a decade. Her experience includes positions as journalist, photographer and editor; as a freelance photojournalist, blogger, communications manager and consultant. Petro specializes in conservation and freshwater issues. She has written extensively from southern Africa, Europe, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Among other publications, she writes for the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Earth Island Journal. Her portfolio of work includes two books for South Africa’s Water Research Commission, and she is the creative writer for the USAID funded Smart Waters project.

BPCA is giving young writers and photographers the opportunity to tell stories from the region about the importance of water to peace and sustainability. There are many examples across the five Central Asian nations – from farmers that depend on water downstream, to upstream industries and townspeople that might look towards hydropower for a more sustainable future. For any such hopes and dreams to be realized in a peaceful future for all, there needs to be new thinking about the role of water in enabling regional development in stability.

The Blue Peace Central Asia initiative will assist budding writers and photographers to produce feature articles with photos for publication. Final stories and photos will be published with the students’ bylines. We will accept two story proposals. Each proposal can be submitted by two students (one writer, one photographer).

To be considered for the opportunity, please send us your story proposal, in less than 200 words, to cay4w.lyazzat@gmail.com, mail@petrokotze.com and treznikova@carececo.org. Your proposal must include “BPCA story pitch” as the subject of the email. The deadline for submissions is 18 November 2020. The following must be included in your pitch, for consideration:

- An overview of your suggested story in five or less sentences;
- An explanation of how this topic shows that collaboration over water leads to peaceful and sustainable societies;
- A description of who the main character will be that you will interview, that will portray how a change in mindset has led to positive results;
- Suggestions of what images you could produce with the story.

We look forward to hearing from you!


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