Journalism students from the University of Kansas and four universities in the Eastern European country of Georgia came together May 6 via a live video teleconference to discuss journalism practices, ethics and free speech issues.

Journalism students who participated in the video teleconference were enrolled in an Ethics class taught by Tom Volek, associate dean for graduate studies and faculty development at the School of Journalism. The students participated in a question and answer session, learning from each other the differences in culture and journalism practices in the United States and in Georgia.

"This video hookup literally linked our students with journalism students in Tblisi, Georgia,” Volek said. “We at KU now can interact with students from other societies and cultures from our classrooms in real time. This is part of being a truly world-class university and school."

Natia Kaladze, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia in Tbilisi, organized the teleconference and hosted the proceedings. She will complete her six-month Fulbright program residency this month with the School or Journalism. During her stay, Kaladze has been learning the latest in technology, converged media, instruction methods and school accreditation.

“From my point of view the teleconference was a great event, because it gave an opportunity to Georgian and American students to share their experience and knowledge and talk to each other about the most important issues in journalism like freedom of expression, censorship, editorial policy and the media’s role in the democratization process in new democratic countries,” Kaladze said. “We are going to continue this tradition and hold additional online conferences between the University of Kansas and Georgia.”

Bart Redford, assistant director from the KU Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREES), organized logistical and technical support. The Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy in Tblisi organized the event from Georgia.

Edith Clowes, director of CREES, said, “The Center has been organizing an increasing number of video bridges between KU and Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus region. Long-distance video technology brings people from all reaches of the world together so that cultural understanding can start to happen on a large scale. The excitement in the classroom was palpable. This video bridge was a first step on the road that might inspire KU students to want to study in Georgia and learn one of the languages of the Caucasus Mountains. We look forward to collaborating in the future with Professor Volek and the School of Journalism.”

Journalism Dean Ann Brill, Volek and Prof. Barbara Barnett recently hosted a luncheon with Keith Yehle, KU’s director of federal relations, and officials from the Georgian Ministry of Defence.

“As we work to understand global media changes these types of relationship-building activities are essential,” Brill said.