Ostkurs 2026: Summer academy for journalists from Central and Eastern Europe

For young German-speaking journalists from Central and Eastern Europe, the Institute for the Promotion of Young Journalists (ifp) is again offering a three-week summer academy in Munich from July 5th to 24th, 2026. The program for “Ostkurs 2026” includes classic journalistic styles such as news/reports, interviews, reports, online verification (checking facts) and mobile reporting. In the third week of the seminar, interviews are practiced in the TV studio of the Catholic journalism school.

Application deadline is February 15, 2026.

A maximum of 15 participants will be selected and invited for the Ostkurs 2026 in mid-March 2026.

Application requirements 

• between 19 and 32 years old
• work full-time or part-time in the press, radio, television, or online media,
• speak and write in German
• have a positive attitude towards democratic, humanistic, and religious values.

Participation fee & travel costs

The participation fee for accommodation, meals and the three-week training course is 160 euros for participants from EU member states and 130 euros for participants from non-EU member states. (The current place of residence at the start of the seminar applies.) Participants of the Course 2025 will receive a subsidy for the actual travel costs incurred.

The training is aimed at journalists of all Christian denominations.