Transitions Online (Transitions - formerly TOL) is a media development organization and online journal covering news and events in the 31

post-Communist Post-communism is the period of political and economic transformation or transition in post-Soviet states and other formerly communist states located in Central-Eastern Europe and parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, in which new governments ...

countries of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

, South Eastern Europe,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the

Baltics The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. It was founded in the Czech Republic in 1999.

History

TOL was founded as a Czech

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

in April 1999 as a successor to the print magazine, Transitions. With the financial and professional support of the

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

's (OSI) Internet program and the

Media Development Investment Fund Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), formerly Media Development Loan Fund, is a New York-registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and mission-driven investment fund that provides low-cost financing to independent news and information bus ...

(MDIF), the magazine was resurrected online in July 1999. Since then, TOL has worked with up-and-coming journalists from across its target region, providing opportunities for training and professional development. TOL was the winner of the 2001 NetMedia Award for Outstanding Contribution to Online Journalism in Europe and the 2003 NetMedia Award for Best Innovation in Online Journalism. In 2005, two TOL editors were jointly named among 50 “Europeans of the Year” by the

European Voice ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the American news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices in ...

for the magazine’s coverage of EU integration.

Training Institute

TOL regularly runs commercial and grant-funded training seminars for professional and aspiring journalists on a range of topics, including working as a foreign correspondent, EU reporting, online publishing and new media, and others. In cooperation with the BBC World Trust and The Guardian Foundation, TOL has also launched several distance education courses on environmental reporting, new media, and education reporting. To date, TOL has helped improve the writing and reporting skills of hundreds of journalists from the region.

Affiliated projects

In 2006, TOL and neweurasia teamed up to explore the vast potential of blogging to act as a cost-efficient, powerful instrument of free speech, free press, advocacy, and self-expression in

. The project showcases bloggers from across

, in Russian, English and local languages. Since 2007, Transitions Online has emerged as a leading source of news and analysis on developments in

education reform Education reform is the goal of changing public education. The meaning and educational methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, the motivations for ...

across its target region and other countries in transition. With the support of the

's Education Support Program, TOL has pioneered training in education reporting in post-communist countries and features regular coverage of education themes on its education reporting resource site, Chalkboard. Transitions Online is also one of the supporters of Social Innovation Camps in Europe and Asia. Social Innovation Camp Global

References

{{Authority control Journalism organizations in Europe Non-profit organizations based in the Czech Republic Organizations established in 1999 1999 establishments in the Czech Republic

History

Training Institute

Affiliated projects

See also

References