Past workshops
What makes a good magazine?
What are the differences between North African and European hip hop?
Who is the critic writing for?
Casablanca workshop features:
Interview with ECF's Tommi Laitio by Gestalten's Creative Director, Sven Ehmann READ
Article in Greek 'SOUL' magazine on the workshop READ
Die Gestalten Verlag's summary of the meeting MORE
Articles on the Moroccan scene from British punk journalist John Robb
'Play it again Sam' & 'Keep Moroccan in the free world'
Article 'The End' in Greek 'OZON' magazine by Yorgos Kelefis READ
Photo montage of all participants by Anna Shori
View
50 editors of independent pop culture magazines from over 20 countries met in Casablanca from 5 to 9 June 2007 to discuss such issues as gender in popular culture media, the state of Moroccan hip hop, the latest trends in magazine design, and the role of advertising in pop culture magazines. They left with new international contacts and a better understanding of the region's cultural richness.
The workshop was co-organised by the Moroccan cultural NGO L´Eac-L´Boulevard with the generous support of Casablanca's Instituto Cervantes.
Photo: Jean Berry
Popular Culture Workshop - Istanbul, 5-9 September 2006
This workshop in the Topkapi Palace focused on street art in Europe, the coverage of foreign cultures, and music censorship, among other issues. 40 popular culture journalists from 20 countries were joined by around 30 Turkish journalists and culture professionals. The workshop was covered extensively in the Turkish media and has led to practical collaborations such as article exchanges and joint publications.
Co-organised by the popular culture magazine Bant, the workshop included a screening of 
Fatih Akin's new documentary on Istanbul's music scene, ‘Crossing the Bridge', and a Q&A session with the film's protagonist, German bass-player Alexander Hacke. The ECF and Bant also organised a sold-out concert in which Hacke played with the Turkish band Baba Zula.
View photo of participants by Anna Schori.
Read article (in German) by Martin Büsser for INTRO magazine.
Read article from November edition Pig magazine (Italian language) about the workshop
Read article in SOUL magazine (Greek language).
Urban Youth Cultures in mass print media - Rotterdam, 24 and 25 November 2006
Print journalists from the culture desks of European quality dailies were joined by hip hop journalists, choreographers, designers and filmmakers at a workshop discussing media coverage of youth and popular culture.
Organised by the ECF, the Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad, and the hip hop Blacksoil festival, the workshop revealed a European aspect to youth cultures of American origin, with subcultures such as hip hop being used in Europe to voice national concerns (e.g. the EU accession of Poland and the colonial past of several countries).
In popular youth cultures, exchange usually takes place solely between national and American scenes, so many participants were enthusiastic about the idea of European exchange.
NRC Handelsblad published two articles from journalists participating at the 24 November workshop 'Coverage of hip hop in European quality media': one by Karolina Ramqvist, journalist at Dagens Nyheter and chief editor of Arena magazine and the other by Giuseppe Pipitone, athor of the book 'Bigger than hiphop'.
For more information, contact the media programme officer Tommi Laitio.