In a world where much journalism education goes unrecognised, WJEC vice chair Nico Drok is a well-deserved exception.
This stalwart, and host of the third edition of the World Journalism Education Congress, has received the prestigious title of “Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau”, for his more than 40-year career in promoting journalism education in the Netherlands and more widely.
“It is highly fitting to see this recognition of your work in building the global community of journalism teachers and enhancing respect for journalism education”, says outgoing WJEC Chair Verica Rupar in congratulating Dr Drok.
The acknowledgement of his work comes within a historical juncture where disinformation, hate speech and other kinds of content endanger the information landscape.
“This award to Nico serves to highlight the contemporary importance of empowering young people to become quality journalists,” says Rupar.
Under Dr Drok’s leadership, the third iteration of the WJE Congress in 2013 adopted the theme of “Renewing Journalism through Education”. It drew in 330 participants from 55 countries. Added to the achievement, was a detailed evaluation of the experience and tips for future WJEC hosts.
In turn, these outcomes helped to ensure the continuation of the Congress in 2016 in New Zealand and 2019 in Paris, and strengthened UNESCO’s interest in partnership with the World Journalism Education Council. The next WJE Congress will be in Perth, Australia in 2025.
More broadly, Dr Drok has also shown distinctive leadership in the field with cutting edge research into the teaching of journalism worldwide. A highlight is leading an international survey, “Journalistic Roles, Values and Qualifications in the 21st century; how journalism educators across the globe view the future of a profession in transition”.
The interest aroused by this research saw Dr Drok present its findings in December 2021 at a virtual roundtable session aimed at the Asia Pacific region and organized by the Asian Media, Information and Communications Centre.
He found, after surveying 1696 teachers from 46 countries, that most advocated that, in current times, journalism students should be prepared for slower forms of journalism, with a focus on reliability and context.
The research results were released in a book by Dr Drok and Rolien Duiven during a special session at the conference of the International Association for Media and Communications Research (IAMCR) in Lyon, France in July 2023.
In a world where much journalism education goes unrecognised, WJEC vice chair Nico Drok is a well-deserved exception.
This stalwart, and host of the third edition of the World Journalism Education Congress, has received the prestigious title of “Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau”, for his more than 40-year career in promoting journalism education in the Netherlands and more widely.
“It is highly fitting to see this recognition of your work in building the global community of journalism teachers and enhancing respect for journalism education”, says outgoing WJEC Chair Verica Rupar in congratulating Dr Drok.
The acknowledgement of his work comes within a historical juncture where disinformation, hate speech and other kinds of content endanger the information landscape.
“This award to Nico serves to highlight the contemporary importance of empowering young people to become quality journalists,” says Rupar.
Under Dr Drok’s leadership, the third iteration of the WJE Congress in 2013 adopted the theme of “Renewing Journalism through Education”. It drew in 330 participants from 55 countries. Added to the achievement, was a detailed evaluation of the experience and tips for future WJEC hosts.
In turn, these outcomes helped to ensure the continuation of the Congress in 2016 in New Zealand and 2019 in Paris, and strengthened UNESCO’s interest in partnership with the World Journalism Education Council. The next WJE Congress will be in Perth, Australia in 2025.
More broadly, Dr Drok has also shown distinctive leadership in the field with cutting edge research into the teaching of journalism worldwide. A highlight is leading an international survey, “Journalistic Roles, Values and Qualifications in the 21st century; how journalism educators across the globe view the future of a profession in transition”.
The interest aroused by this research saw Dr Drok present its findings in December 2021 at a virtual roundtable session aimed at the Asia Pacific region and organized by the Asian Media, Information and Communications Centre.
He found, after surveying 1696 teachers from 46 countries, that most advocated that, in current times, journalism students should be prepared for slower forms of journalism, with a focus on reliability and context.
The research results were released in a book by Dr Drok and Rolien Duiven during a special session at the conference of the International Association for Media and Communications Research (IAMCR) in Lyon, France in July 2023.
