Eurovision ACADEMY has provided training in “Compelling Reporting” for 13 journalists who work in Belarus for the Polish-based satellite TV network Belsat.

The tailor-made three-day course in Warsaw, co-funded by the EBU Partnership Programme, was the first chance for the reporters to work together, since they usually operate separately in Belarus. The participants had travelled overnight from Minsk to the Polish capital.

Belsat Director General Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy said the participants found the workshop truly worthwhile. Several have been inspired to propose new programmes and ideas, and one journalist said it had given them the “right material at the right moment”.

The Partnership Programme launched the initiative to train Belsat journalists after European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle asked EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot in 2012 whether the EBU might provide assistance to Belsat.

Eurovision ACADEMY developed the training specifically for Belsat’s reporters and staff after extensive discussions to ascertain their needs. The workshop was led by Mark Egan, former head trainer in video journalism at the BBC College of Journalism.

Mr Egan said he had been impressed by the standard of the pieces produced by the group. “I think the course was a great way of exposing them to other ways of telling stories, and I learned a lot from the way they operate in sometimes difficult circumstances,” he said.

"It’s important to share theories and show best practice examples, but the real value is in learning skills that can be applied. We made sure the course got people out of their seats and making pieces with the freedom to try new things."

Belsat, which broadcasts by satellite in Belarusian, was launched in December 2007 to provide entertainment and news of a standard comparable to the major Central European TV channels. It is based primarily in Poland and run under the tutelage of Polish EBU Member TVP. It has about 70 employees in Poland and 120 collaborators in Belarus.

Ms Romaszewska-Guzy said: "Belsat is making a difference in Belarus, especially outside the big cities where it is easier to receive satellite broadcasters. This workshop was a great opportunity to get a group of people together. Belsat has three times been refused registration of an office in Minsk, which is why we have been unable to bring these reporters together in one place, until now. I had a healthy discussion with Belsat reporters who took part in the workshop, and I can see they really found it worthwhile."

The EBU has been in contact with BBC Media Action with a view to ensuring a follow-up to the workshop, which was held in Warsaw on 26-28 March.