We invite you to join the NARA team for a paid three-month internship in the “Perspectives” project. We participate in this project alongside colleagues from six editorial offices in our region. This open call is the final one within the framework of this project.

Fill out the candidate application form here.

Start of the internship is September 1, duration – three months.

Selected participants will create original journalistic materials which will be published on NARA.lt, and will work with colleagues from Central and Eastern Europe. Project partners: Narvamus (Estonia), Kultura Liberalna (Poland), JÁDU (Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine), Revue Prostor (Czech Republic), Kapitál (Slovakia), Mérce (Hungary).

During the internship:

• Training on September 7–11 in the Czech Republic (travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by us, participants will stay in double rooms);
• Preparation of at least one publication;
• Participation in NARA editorial activities;
• Participation in regular online meetings with the “Perspectives” partner editorial offices.

We will consider candidates who:

• Have good English language skills;
• Have creative work skills in at least one of the formats published by NARA (podcasts, texts, photo stories, video, multimedia).

We offer:

• 15 hours per week of journalistic practice in the NARA team. Part of the work will take place live in Vilnius, part remotely;
• A monthly reward from 510 Eur per month (gross) according to an individual activity certificate, depending on the performed works;
• Mentorship of NARA journalists;
• Coverage of travel expenses related to the preparation of the publication (in advance agreed with the editorial office);
• Publication of completed works that meet NARA standards on NARA.lt and the websites of our partners.

How to apply?
Fill out the candidate form here by July 23. We ask you to provide:

• A short motivation letter;
• A sample of creative work (not necessarily published in the media);
• Publication ideas for a chosen topic analyzed by “Perspectives” (they are mentioned in the questionnaire). The topic should be open to the perspectives of partner countries, collaborating with other young journalists.

If you have questions regarding the internship, contact austeja@nara.lt.

What is PERSPECTIVES3? It is the label for young, constructive and multi-perspective journalism. Our aim is to amplify voices of young people and explore topics that are relevant and interesting to them. A hallmark of the project is its transnational-by-default approach – most stories are developed collaboratively with at least two newsrooms to ensure diverse perspectives and cross-border relevance. Our focus is on non-metropolitan areas and we are especially looking for stories connected to experiences and challenges of young people living outside of big cities.

We value diversity and are committed to giving equal opportunity for all applicants, regardless of background, identity, or circumstances. Should you be facing any barriers making your participation difficult, we will do our best to help you reach your full potential during the programme.

When? Friday, 20 February, 18:00
Where? Meno Avilys (Goštauto g. 2, Vilnius)

This event brings together journalism, academic research, and activism to reflect on the Lithuanian–Belarusian border crisis.

It features:
– Benjamin Nangle (KU Leuven) presenting his co-authored book The Construction of Hostility Towards Migrants.
– Julija Kekstaite (Ghent University / Sienos Grupė) presenting research from her PhD thesis Filling Gaps and Making Cracks: Humanitarian and Solidarity Practices with Illegalised Migrants in Lithuania’s Borderlands.
– Francesco Rufini and Indrė Kiršaitė (NARA) presenting their short video documentary Border Limits.

The event will conclude with a panel discussion and Q&A. It will be recorded and shared online.

Benjamin Nangle is a researcher at KU Leuven specialising in far-right propaganda and anti-migrant discourses in Europe, with extensive experience in humanitarian asylum seeker response and advocacy. During the 2021 Lithuanian–Belarusian border crisis, he volunteered with the Red Cross in migrant detention centres. Drawing on his co-authored book with Giedrė Blažytė, The Construction of Hostility Towards Migrants, this presentation examines the historical, political, propagandistic, and geopolitical forces that shaped Lithuania’s response to the crisis. From neo-Nazis to neoliberal think tanks, from fearmongering journalists to EU politicians, he explores how anti-migrant hostility was constructed and normalised in public discourse.

Julija Kekstaite is a researcher at the University of Ghent and a member of Sienos Grupė, involved in a humanitarian response to the 2021 border crisis. Her presentation draws on her PhD thesis, Filling Gaps and Making Cracks: Humanitarian and Solidarity Practices with Illegalised Migrants in Lithuania’s Borderlands. Focusing on the grassroots initiative Sienos Grupė, she examines how ordinary people mobilised to support migrants after 2021, when arrivals from Africa and the Middle East were met with intensified border controls and state violence. Based on her dual role as member and researcher, she explores how everyday acts of care, providing aid, documenting violence, and advocating for rights, both respond to and expose a border regime that renders some lives disposable. The talk considers what such activism reveals about contemporary border governance and how collective care can challenge dominant narratives and reimagine political responsibility and community.

The NARA short video documentary Border Limits by a journalist Indrė Kiršaitė and a filmmaker Francesco Rufini explores life in Katra, a small village in southern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. Once home to 130 residents, today only four Belarusian widows remain. They moved here decades ago after marrying local men, crossing a border that lay barely ten kilometers away. Now they witness how people from thousands of kilometers away try to enter Lithuania, and for some the journey ends in death.

The event is co-organised and co-funded by the DEMINE European Joint Doctorate network, supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks.

PERSPECTIVES is the new label for multi-perspective and constructive journalism.

Co-financed by the European Union, PERSPECTIVES brings together journalists from the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania and Ukraine. We collaborate in our international Newsroom to bring you content that matters across borders.

Editorial independence and accountability are of key importance in our work and two of the main principles included in our editorial guidelines that encompass our common vision and standards of ethical and high-quality journalism.

See selected work published under the PERSPECTIVES label here.

The annual EBU (European Broadcasting Union) radio documentary conference, the International Feature Conference, took place in Reykjavik on 21-24 May. 16 works were selected for its long program, amongst them the audio documentary "Language Shouldn't Be a Curse, It Should Be a Blessing" by NARA's author Martyna Šulskutė. It is a story from April 2022 about a teenage girl, Hivi, and her daily life in Pabradė, at the Foreigners' Registration Centre, translating conversations between Kurdish and English. The conference also featured excerpts from documentaries on Russia's war in Ukraine, made in different countries last year.

The essay "War Darkens a Second Winter in Lithuania", published on The Wall Street Journal's website and in the newspaper, was written by one of our journalists and editors Karolis Vyšniauskas. The photographs used in the publication were made by our photographers Berta Tilmantaitė and Denis Vėjas.

"I am slowly coming to a realization that the country I left before my studies no longer exists. Our society is in a limbo between war and peace, calm on the outside, burning on the inside", writes Karolis. We invite you to read the essay.

At the Book Awards, Ula was awarded for her illustrations that embody the visions of Oskaras Milašius in Jurga Vilė's book "Nukritę iš Mėnulio. Sapnas apie Oskarą Milašių ir kitus paukščius“ ("Fallen from the Moon. A dream about Oskaras Milašius and other birds") (publishing house "Aukso žuvys").

We are very happy and we are sending our best wishes to Ula in France!

You can find her illustrations for our publications here.

You can also buy them in the NARA shop.