From November 30 to December 2, 2019, over 70 student journalists representing over 30 newsrooms from across Poland met in Krakow for the 4th National Conference of the National Academic Media Forum. The OFMA conference accompanied the 12th Final Gala of the MediaTory Student Journalism Awards and also served as a culmination of the "Active Student" educational and information campaign implemented by the Warsaw Institute of Banking. The event was organized as part of the "Bankers for Education" sectoral program and the "Modern Business Management" program, initiated by the Polish Bank Association.
In addition to over 100 student journalists and journalism students, the conference opening was attended by, among others, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education – Piotr Muller and Vice-Rector for Teaching at the Jagiellonian University – Prof. Dr. hab. Armen Edigarian. .
During the inauguration, the signing of an agreement between the Faculty of Management and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University and the Warsaw Institute of Banking was officially announced. The announcement of the collaboration was made by Agnieszka Hess, Director of the Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication, PhD, DSc, prof. of the Jagiellonian University, and Waldemar Zbytek, Vice President of the Warsaw Institute of Banking. .
– The aim of the first agreement on a national scale concluded with the faculty educating future journalists and communication departments is to cooperate and support educational activities in the fields of economics, finance, cybersecurity, and electronic economy, but also to develop both technical and substantive competences, with particular emphasis on economic journalism – said Vice President Waldemar Zbytek after the ceremony.
The first day of the event also featured a debate titled "Young, Active, Digital, but Are They Cybersafe?" Participants included Monika Grabowska, Director of the Cashless Poland Foundation; Jakub Pepłoński, Head of Law Enforcement Cooperation at Allegro; and W. Zbytek, Vice President of the Financial Information Bureau (WIB). Panelists discussed topics such as safe behaviors when using online stores and e-banking, and the importance of education in this area.
On Saturday, the second day of the conference, workshops on economic, television, and radio journalism were planned, led by journalists from major national media outlets. Young journalists met with Mateusz Borek (Polsat Sport), Bartłomiej Godusławski (Dziennik Gazeta Prawna), Patryk Michalski (RMF FM), and Janusz Schwertner (Onet.pl). The substantive portion concluded with a debate with foreign journalists on the challenges of investigative journalism, organized in cooperation with the Reporters Foundation and the Vsquare Foundation.
This year's conference coincided with the 12th MediaTory Student Journalism Awards Final Gala, during which journalists from major national media outlets who have earned recognition from journalism students across Poland were recognized. All conference participants also attended the gala, along with nearly 1,000 people.
The OFMA National Conference is an annual gathering of student editorial teams from across Poland, aimed at integrating the academic media community, exchanging experiences, and providing opportunities to expand knowledge and skills in journalism. The first edition took place in November 2015 at the National Stadium in Warsaw.
