Transitions online
Encyclopedia
Transitions Online is a media development organization and online journal covering news and events in the 29 post-Communist countries of Eastern Europe
, Central Europe
, South Eastern Europe, Russia
, the Baltics, the Caucasus
, Central Asia
.
in April 1999 as a successor to the print magazine, Transitions. With the financial and professional support of the Open Society Institute
's (OSI) Internet program and the Media Development Loan Fund
(MDLF), the magazine was resurrected online in July 1999. Since then, TOL has worked with up-and-coming journalists from across its target region, providing opportunities for training and professional development.
TOL was the winner of the 2001 NetMedia Award for Outstanding Contribution to Online Journalism in Europe and the 2003 NetMedia Award for Best Innovation in Online Journalism. In 2005, two TOL editors were jointly named among 50 “Europeans of the Year” by the European Voice
for the magazine’s coverage of EU integration.
teamed up to explore the vast potential of blogging to act as a cost-efficient, powerful instrument of free speech, free press, advocacy, and self-expression in Central Asia
. The project showcases bloggers from across Central Asia
, in Russian, English and local languages.http://neweurasia.net
Since 2007, Transitions Online has emerged as a leading source of news and analysis on developments in education reform
across its target region and other countries in transition. With the support of the Open Society Institute
's Education Support Program, TOL has pioneered training in education reporting in post-communist countries and features regular coverage of education themes on its education reporting resource site, Chalkboard.http://chalkboard.tol.org
Transitions Online is also one of the supporters of Social Innovation Camp
s in Europe and Asia.
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
, South Eastern Europe, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the Baltics, the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
History
TOL was founded as a Czech nonprofit organizationNonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in April 1999 as a successor to the print magazine, Transitions. With the financial and professional support of the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
's (OSI) Internet program and the Media Development Loan Fund
Media Development Loan Fund
Media Development Loan Fund is a New York-registered 501 non-profit corporation and investment fund that provides low-cost financing to independent news media in countries with a history of media oppression...
(MDLF), the magazine was resurrected online in July 1999. Since then, TOL has worked with up-and-coming journalists from across its target region, providing opportunities for training and professional development.
TOL was the winner of the 2001 NetMedia Award for Outstanding Contribution to Online Journalism in Europe and the 2003 NetMedia Award for Best Innovation in Online Journalism. In 2005, two TOL editors were jointly named among 50 “Europeans of the Year” by the European Voice
European Voice
European Voice is an English language newspaper owned by The Economist Group. The newspaper gives an account of the activities of the key European Union institutions – the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of Ministers...
for the magazine’s coverage of EU integration.
Training Institute
TOL regularly runs commercial and grant-funded training seminars for professional and aspiring journalists on a range of topics, including working as a foreign correspondent, EU reporting, online publishing and new media, and others.http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/section_training_previous.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=20&NrIssue=1 In cooperation with the BBC World Trust and the Guardian Foundation, TOL has also launched several distance education courses on environmental reporting, new media, and education reporting. To date, TOL has helped improve the writing and reporting skills of hundreds of journalists from the region.Affiliated Projects
In 2006, TOL and neweurasiaNeweurasia
neweurasia is a network of weblogs about Central Asia and the Caucasus. neweurasia's central idea has revolved around "bridge blogging", enlisting bloggers who speak both English and local languages to serve as links between the English and local-language blogging communities...
teamed up to explore the vast potential of blogging to act as a cost-efficient, powerful instrument of free speech, free press, advocacy, and self-expression in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. The project showcases bloggers from across Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, in Russian, English and local languages.http://neweurasia.net
Since 2007, Transitions Online has emerged as a leading source of news and analysis on developments in education reform
Education reform
Education reform is the process of improving public education. Small improvements in education theoretically have large social returns, in health, wealth and well-being. Historically, reforms have taken different forms because the motivations of reformers have differed.A continuing motivation has...
across its target region and other countries in transition. With the support of the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
's Education Support Program, TOL has pioneered training in education reporting in post-communist countries and features regular coverage of education themes on its education reporting resource site, Chalkboard.http://chalkboard.tol.org
Transitions Online is also one of the supporters of Social Innovation Camp
Social Innovation Camp
Social Innovation Camp is a competition and event for software developers, designers and social innovators to create new businesses and projects that use the web to achieve a social goal...
s in Europe and Asia.
See also
- Social Innovation CampSocial Innovation CampSocial Innovation Camp is a competition and event for software developers, designers and social innovators to create new businesses and projects that use the web to achieve a social goal...
- JournalismJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
- MediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
- New mediaNew mediaNew media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
- Web 2.0Web 2.0The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...