Statement on Hungarian University Membership in EJTA

At its General Assembly on October 17th 2024, the European Journalism Training Association welcomed two new Hungarian universities as members: Pécs University and Debrecen University. Both of these institutions are currently excluded from the Erasmus programme due to their governance model, which is shaped by the Hungarian government’s foundation-led approach. We acknowledge the Erasmus programme’s decision, which understandably views the situation through the lens of institutional and governmental relations.
EJTA remains committed to promoting quality journalism and upholding democratic values, but our primary focus, however, is at the department level. It addresses this matter from the standpoint of individual journalism educators, and students.

From this perspective, we believe that greater risks arise if we fail to remain united. We believe in our European approach, where inclusion fosters freedom. By partnering with our Hungarian colleagues, we can support them in educating a new generation of journalists with a broader perspective and a deeper appreciation of our shared European values, while also keeping their peers in other countries informed about developments across Europe. Our goal is to provide access to professional networks that strengthen independent, quality journalism education in Hungary and beyond.

It should be noted that EJTA already includes one Hungarian member, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), which remains independent of the foundation-led governance model.

EJTA Board, 2024

Statement on Russian invasion of Ukraine

The board and the director of EJTA would like to express their sympathy and solidarity to our Ukrainian colleagues, journalism students, journalists and citizens.
We strongly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In these difficult times it’s not possible to continue our cooperation with Russian institutes of journalism teaching.
Journalism requires verification, ethical responsibility and integrity. We have to raise journalists to report, explain, contextualize, and debunk in order to inform our societies with truthful information, and contribute to democratic debate.
Our weapon is our professionalism and collaboration on truth telling.

EJTA Board, 2020