The International Journalism Festival (IJF) is a cultural event dedicated to journalism, which takes place in Perugia every year during the month of April. The IJF's programme consists of meetings, debates, interviews, books presentations, exhibitions and workshops, which gather the world of journalism, media, communication and culture. All the initiatives are free.
The International Journalism Festival was born in 2006 in Perugia by the ideas of Arianna Ciccone and Christopher Potter, with the aim of talking about journalism, information and freedom of press. It is an innovative model, born from the bottom: there are no scientific committees, nor artistic directors. Those who want to share and put forward their ideas may do so. The festival is born from the encounter of these ideas.
This is an event in which the protagonists of the information, coming from all over the world, meet for some days with the citizens, readers, students, and professionals of the subject, in a continuos flow of ideas, exchanges and debates. The different initiatives are held in theaters, auditoriums, and conference rooms in the city center of Perugia. Among these there is the Teatro Morlacchi, and the Sala dei Notari, inside the Palazzo dei Priori. During the past editions, the festival has seen the participation of Vin Ray, director of the BBC School of Journalism; Wilfried Ruetten, director of the European Center of Journalism of Maastricht; Evan Cornog, spokesman of the School of Journalism of the Columbia University of New York; and Eugenio Scalfari.
The 2019 edition counts more than 600 speakers and 300 events, most of them will be simultaneously translated. 49% of this year's speakers are women. The making of this five-days-festival (from April 3rd to 7th) will be possible thanks to more than 200 voluntaries, coming from all over the world. Most of them are boys and girls which make available their competences, their time and energy to guarantee the great operational management and the success of the many events of the festival.
The International Journalism Festival is the very first event in Italy entirely dedicated to the world of the information. It plays a center stage role in the promotion of a free and independent information. Consult the programme and participate to the free initiatives!