Summer Conference
28–29
June
2023
Wed 28 Jun
Thu 29 Jun
Wednesday 28 June
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28 June
2023
09.30–10.30
- 28 June 2023 09.30–10.30
Summer Conference Event
— Keynote
Olga Rudenko: How to Run a Successful Media Start-up in Times of War
The Kyiv Independent, an English language start-up in Ukraine, was only a few months old when Russia invaded. When - in one of the biggest media scandals of the Zelensky's presidency - the editorial team of an older English language publication, the Kyiv Post, were fired for defending editorial independence, they came together to form the Kyiv Independent in November 2022.
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28 June
2023
10.50–11.50
- 28 June 2023 10.50–11.50
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Data Journalism: Getting the Most out of Data Classes
We will be teaching a range of data journalism skills at the #CIJSummer Conference 2023. This session will give a brief description of the skills taught and is designed to help you identify the best sessions to attend, given your own experience level and your objectives for incorporating data-driven research into your work.
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28 June
2023
10.50–16.10
- 28 June 2023 10.50–16.10
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Story-Based Inquiry Method 1-4
The course sets out the Story-Based Inquiry (SBI) method, which has been successfully used by thousands of journalists, academics and NGO researchers since its publication by UNESCO in 2009. The method can be used for feature writing or documentary filmmaking as well as reportage.
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28 June
2023
10.50–11.50
- 28 June 2023 10.50–11.50
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Breaking into Investigative Filmmaking
With a proven track record of producing hard-hitting major network investigations, BAFTA and International Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist Gesbeen (Gesh) Mohammad will share her journey of becoming a documentary filmmaker.
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28 June
2023
10.50–11.50
- 28 June 2023 10.50–11.50
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Oil Trade Tracking. Hands-on.
Hands-on. This class will introduce participants to approaches to tracking and reporting on the opaque oil trade. The trainers will explain the value of commodity tracking through the presentation of some powerful stories that relied on the practice.
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28 June
2023
10.50–11.50
- 28 June 2023 10.50–11.50
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Of War Crimes and Libel Laws: The Case of Ben Roberts-Smith VC
In one of the most important libel trials for decades, this month three Australian newspapers won a historic victory over Ben Roberts-Smith VC, Australia’s most decorated soldier, after they accused him of killing three Afghan civilians in cold blood and he sued.
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28 June
2023
12.00–13.00
- 28 June 2023 12.00–13.00
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
How to Make a Successful Podcast
Two award-winning podcast creators Maeve McClenaghan (The Tip Off Podcast) and Basia Cummings (Tortoise Studios) share their experience of how to make investigative podcasts. They’ll discuss how to identify compelling subjects for audio stories, provide tips and tricks on sound design and the differences in writing and interviewing for the ear, rather than the eye.
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28 June
2023
12.00–13.00
- 28 June 2023 12.00–13.00
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Broken Promises: Greenwashing Uncovered
Recent years have seen significant improvement in both recognition and rhetoric from those in power around the need for action to address the looming impacts of the climate crisis. However, in too many cases, positive words have served only to obscure inaction at best and continued harm at worst.
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28 June
2023
12.00–16.10
- 28 June 2023 12.00–16.10
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Data Journalism: Spreadsheets 1-3. Hands-on. [B+I]
Hands-on. Beginner-Intermediate. This three-part hands-on express data journalism course will introduce you to the basics of data analysis in Google Sheets. Suitable for beginners (part I) and intermediates (parts II and III).
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28 June
2023
12.00–13.00
- 28 June 2023 12.00–13.00
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Satellite Imagery: First Steps
Hands-on This talk will build participants' knowledge of the available sources of satellite imagery, what their respective strengths are and how to use them effectively. - Review of different sources: Planet, Sentinel-2, LandSat-7 and Maxar — we set out the main options in more detail in a recent Substack post.
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28 June
2023
14.00–15.00
- 28 June 2023 14.00–15.00
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Deny, Evade, Threaten: Dan Neidle on His Nadhim Zahawi Investigation
During his months-long investigation into the former Tory Chairman Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs, which resulted in Zahawi's sacking, Dan Neidle was sent many threatening legal letters. They claimed repeatedly that Zahawi's taxes were in order and he was not under HMRC investigation - claims that we now know to be false.
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28 June
2023
14.00–15.00
- 28 June 2023 14.00–15.00
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Web Basics: How the Web Works and How to Scrape It. Hands-on. [B]
Hands-on. Beginner. Have you ever wondered how exactly your stories reach your readers? Ever wanted to know how to build a simple webpage? Or how to scrape information from a website onto your computer?
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28 June
2023
14.00–15.00
- 28 June 2023 14.00–15.00
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
BBC Data Team on Missing and Confusing Data
All the analysis tools and techniques in the world cannot land you a story when the data is missing or so messy as to be incomprehensible. Data journalists from BBC News share insights on how to tackle missing and confusing data in two subject areas.
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28 June
2023
15.10–16.10
- 28 June 2023 15.10–16.10
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Flash Floods: How to Report when Climate Disaster Strikes
Disasters triggered by climate change are many years in the making, but when they reach critical points the effects can unfold fast. If journalists are to capture and show the impacts of such events on affected communities, they too must act fast.
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28 June
2023
15.10–16.10
- 28 June 2023 15.10–16.10
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Open-Source: Finding Russia’s Filtration Camps
After the mayor of Mariupol warned that tens of thousands of people from the city were being interrogated in Russian filtration camps and forced across the border, the i newspaper’s award-winning investigations correspondent Dean Kirby set out to try to find them.
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28 June
2023
15.10–17.30
- 28 June 2023 15.10–17.30
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Data Journalism: Scraping 1-2. Hands-on. [B+I]
Hands-on. Beginner-Intermediate. Scraping 1 You may have heard of scraping, you may even have done a little yourself. These two sessions set out to demystify the process of getting data from websites where there is no download or export button, and copying and pasting is getting you nowhere.
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28 June
2023
16.30–17.30
- 28 June 2023 16.30–17.30
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Josie Stewart: Whistleblowing and the British State
In the wake of the chaos surrounding the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Josie Stewart, then a senior official at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, became concerned that the truth was not being told by the government and talked to a journalist.
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28 June
2023
16.30–17.30
- 28 June 2023 16.30–17.30
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
No Business as Usual: Multinationals and the Climate Crisis
Luuk Sengers is a seasoned investigative journalist specialising in the impact of large corporations on the environment, public health, and the climate. In recent years he has found that the traditional way of business reporting is no longer sufficient: because of the decisive impact of many multinationals on the climate crisis, it has now literally become a matter of life and death.
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28 June
2023
16.30–17.30
- 28 June 2023 16.30–17.30
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Data Journalism: SQL. An Introduction. Hands-on. [B+I]
Hands-on. Intermediate. Take the next step after interviewing spreadsheets, and learn how to handle large datasets with SQL. SQL allows us to expand the scope of our data-driven work, to safely share data with others, and most importantly, to combine tables together through joining.
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28 June
2023
16.30–17.30
- 28 June 2023 16.30–17.30
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Investigating Sexual Assault at the Workplace: the Case of Crispin Odey
Crispin Odey reigned over London’s hedge fund scene for more than three decades. At its peak his firm, Odey Asset Management, was one of Europe's largest hedge fund companies. But behind the scenes, and known to the company's executives, persistent sexual misconduct and abuse was taking place.
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28 June
2023
17.40–18.30
- 28 June 2023 17.40–18.30
Summer Conference Event
— Keynote
‘Fisayo Soyombo: Undercover in Lagos
A fearless Nigerian investigative journalist who has gone under cover on numerous occasions to expose corruption, 'Fisayo Soyombo is best known for spending several days in a police cell and a prison to expose corruption within the country’s criminal justice system.
Thursday 29 June
-
29 June
2023
09.00–10.00
- 29 June 2023 09.00–10.00
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Understanding Company Accounts: Getting the Most out of Companies House
Any UK-based investigative journalist or aspiring journalist should have a working knowledge of Companies House. Companies House is the central registry for all UK registered limited or PLC companies and contains a wealth of useful information for those who know how to use the site.
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29 June
2023
09.00–10.00
- 29 June 2023 09.00–10.00
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
The Keys to the Algorithm: Inside an AI System
Across Europe, secretive algorithms are making life-changing decisions about millions of welfare recipients. An international team of journalists led by Lighthouse Reports gained unprecedented access to an AI system designed to predict which welfare recipients were committing fraud.
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29 June
2023
09.00–10.00
- 29 June 2023 09.00–10.00
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Corderoy vs State Secrets: Freedom of Information Act as a Tool and a Career
In this session, openDemocracy's Jenna Corderoy will lift the lid on how she has used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain vital documents for her investigations. She will talk about how and why the FOIA is such a vital tool in holding the powerful to account, and discuss her favourite investigations and stories obtained via the Act.
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29 June
2023
09.00–10.00
- 29 June 2023 09.00–10.00
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Keeping It Local: Inspiring Regional Reporters to Use Data Journalism Tools for Their Stories
Helena Bengtsson is Data Editor at Gota Media, Swedish publisher of 13 local titles. In this session she explains how to educate, train and work directly with local reporters to produce both title-specific data stories and projects which can be shared across other titles.
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29 June
2023
10.10–16.40
- 29 June 2023 10.10–16.40
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Understanding Company Accounts 1-4
This mini-course taught by a journalist-friendly forensic accountant will show you how to understand company accounts and get beyond the corporate PR spin. The emphasis will be on teaching practical skills rather than a series of lectures.
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29 June
2023
10.10–12.30
- 29 June 2023 10.10–12.30
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 1-2
This two-part practical course will guide you through the basics of freedom of information legislation and equip you with the skills necessary to make successful information requests and appeals.
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29 June
2023
10.10–11.10
- 29 June 2023 10.10–11.10
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
The Prepayment Meter Scandal
In different ways, the i newspaper's Dean Kirby and Paul Morgan-Bentley from The Times forced the pre-payment meter scandal into the open, their investigations leading to substantial industry change. Both come to Summer Conference to talk about their methods, which in the case of The Times involved undercover video, and the impact of their work.
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29 June
2023
10.10–15.30
- 29 June 2023 10.10–15.30
Summer Conference Event
— Course
Data Journalism: Investigating Data with R 1-3. Hands-on. [B+I]
Hands-on. Beginner-Intermediate. Sooner or later you know you’ll come up against a dataset so big it’s going to crash Excel if you even try to open it. Maybe your questions are becoming too complex for Excel’s built-in analytics tools to handle.
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29 June
2023
10.10–11.10
- 29 June 2023 10.10–11.10
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Investor-State Disputes: Exposing Shadowy Threats to Democracy
Multinational corporations and investors have filed almost 1,000 legal cases against entire countries at an obscure branch of the World Bank. Such cases have been successfully used by corporations to circumvent environmental regulations, as well as post-apartheid policies in South Africa designed to empower black communities.
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29 June
2023
11.30–12.30
- 29 June 2023 11.30–12.30
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Ukraine: Investigations in the Shadow of Invasion
The Russian invasion of Ukraine changed many of the topics covered by Ukrainian investigative journalists, though the key investigative techniques have often remained the same. Elena Loginova speaks about an investigation by the OCCRP, The Banality of Brutality.
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29 June
2023
11.30–12.30
- 29 June 2023 11.30–12.30
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Source Protection Programme: Phishing 101
Phishing is a digital attempt by a bad actor (e.g. hackers, data-mining companies) to persuade you to reveal your personal information (e.g. passwords, credit card numbers) often received via email or text message.
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29 June
2023
12.40–13.30
- 29 June 2023 12.40–13.30
Summer Conference Event
— Gavin MacFadyen Memorial Lecture
José María Irujo: How the CIA Spied on Assange
José María Irujo, senior staff writer and investigative reporter for El País, comes to London and the CIJ to deliver the annual Gavin MacFadyen memorial lecture. He will detail his explosive allegations about the CIA’s alleged capture of a private security firm whose job was to protect the Ecuadorian Embassy and Assange himself.
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29 June
2023
14.30–15.30
- 29 June 2023 14.30–15.30
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
OSINT: Finding People
Taught by Paul Myers, one of Europe's top open-source intelligence specialists, this session will demonstrate techniques for locating and investigating people using various resources and detective skills like jigsaw identification.
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29 June
2023
14.30–15.30
- 29 June 2023 14.30–15.30
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Investigating Covid Loan Fraud: How to Overcome Obstacles and Win an Award
British Journalism Awards winner in the Crime and Legal Affairs category, Stefania Spezzati speaks about her investigation into a massive taxpayer-funded fraud which the UK government tried to keep secret.
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29 June
2023
14.30–15.30
- 29 June 2023 14.30–15.30
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Getting Green Scoops Using Environmental Law
Learn how to leverage the law to obtain ‘green’ information from government departments, regulators and even some private companies. The Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) - the ‘Sister Act’ of FOIA legislation - is a simple and powerful tool that allows access to public-interest information about the environment.
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29 June
2023
15.40–16.40
- 29 June 2023 15.40–16.40
Summer Conference Event
— Talk
Making It Count: Using Data to Tell Stories from the Climate Crisis
We are already seeing the impacts of the climate crisis, and many are so wide-ranging and devastating that they are difficult to comprehend. Many journalists are taking the skills and techniques of data journalism and applying these to the disastrous ramifications of climate change.
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29 June
2023
15.40–16.40
- 29 June 2023 15.40–16.40
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
OSINT: Investigation Using Images
Taught by Paul Myers, one of Europe’s top open-source intelligence specialists, this session will focus on using images in an investigation. It will show how to find images, including searching by face, finding locations and verifying information using reverse image searching.
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29 June
2023
15.40–16.40
- 29 June 2023 15.40–16.40
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Time Travel for Beginners: How to Create and Use Web Archives. Hands-on.
Hands-on. Ever relied upon an online source, only later to find it deleted or changed? Ever wanted to travel back in time? This class will cover the next best thing: web archives. We'll look at getting the most out of resources like the Wayback Machine -- what they're good for, and what they're not.
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29 June
2023
15.40–16.40
- 29 June 2023 15.40–16.40
Summer Conference Event
— Workshop
Source Protection Programme: Collaborating Across Borders
This session will cover a practical mix of data security tips and models for workflows that journalists can use when collaborating across borders. The session will be most useful for participants who already have some of their own digital security practices in place or have basic knowledge of digital security fundamentals.
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29 June
2023
17.00–17.50
- 29 June 2023 17.00–17.50
Summer Conference Event
— Keynote
Patricia Devlin: Investigating Crime and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland
Patricia Devlin’s investigations into crime and paramilitarism in post-Troubles Northern Ireland have left her with powerful enemies on all sides. At the CIJ she talks about how to investigate in sometimes hostile territory, and how to deal with the abuse and intimidation that follows.