What is a citizen journalist?

The question has been asked often during the past six months and since I arrived in Brussels to perform the role.

Last night, at the Summer Breeze drinks at Orybany Atelier Boutique (see my previous post), I met young people who were artists and designers and parents and teachers and managers. What brought them together in this suburb of Brussels where social housing bore the tags of graffiti, where the tracks of the metro clattered through, where children played wildly in the concrete space and community garden across the road?

I struggled with my French to learn about the practice of these creative people. I admired the ease with which Juliette, our host, explained difficult concepts to me in English. She introduced me to three young entrepreneurs who had attended start up courses with her or who had completed management training in France. One young woman was working towards establishing a circus cafe, another was a chocolatier, a third was planning a health food establishment. They talked about how they were linked in to a group of people who supported their ideas and helped them to realise their visions.

Brussels and the region through various NGOs and, in particular, Les Ateliers des Tanneurs (www.AteliersDesTanneurs.be) actively supports ventures like these. The old winery building, now beautifully restored, offers interesting space in the heart of Brussels at a competitive price, as well as a dynamic, creative environment including services and advice. I know a few people in Malta who dream of such a space!

One of the guests asked me the question. Luckily, she asked in English so I talked about the Maltese Presidency of EU, now winding down for the end of their tenure. I mentioned the Arts Council, the training of citizen journalists in Malta in Futuring workshops with the European arts group TimesUp, the interviews we conducted for the Beehive in which we asked about the future of the EU, even our watering of the plants in the foyer of the Maltese office building in Justus Lipsius. In most situations, the formal explanation would have been enough. But here, in this creative community space, I knew that I needed to give more.

"For me, the emphasis is on 'citizen'. Being a citizen journalist is about finding the stories linking people within their communities and telling those stories. I also try to research something of the stories of the powerful because they shape many of the boundaries within which ordinary citizens live. But I'm most interested in the stories of people in local areas and how their stories can shape their own lives. That's why I'm excited to find Les Ateliers Des Tanneurs because here government works with community to create a space in which stories are told and heard in conversation."

I thought about it further as I walked back to my flat three blocks away. By placing the word 'citizen' in front of an established profession like journalist or scientist we recognise that some knowledge resides within a community and is of value to the more powerful who shape the parameters of our world. The citizen journalist tries to make those stories heard so that the voices of diverse citizens help to shape the trajectory of our pathways to the future. I didn't know that when I first came to Brussels.