CDFAI held both the French and English Journalism Courses this year.

English Course

The English course was run by Dr. Bob Bergen at the University of Calgary in conjunction with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies. 12 Journalism students participated in the course, which was held May 2-10. This course, now in its 10th year, is an established and innovative leader in not only military journalism, but in Canadian journalism education as a whole. The stated aim of the course is to teach future journalists how to learn about the military. From its written evaluations comes a sampling of the extremely gratifying comments about the 2011 course: Sample Feedback from the 12 English 2011 Students:  

• “I feel confident that I would at least know where to begin when it comes to tackling the issues that confront the Canadian Forces as a journalist. A lot of us have had the opportunity to debate the merits of foreign policy, but few of us have had this kind of opportunity to scrutinize the practical aspects of how the military works at home and abroad.”
  

• “This is one of the single best experiences I have had in my journalistic training.”
  

• “I have had a life changing experience during my time here and I owe it to all the people who put a lot of work
  into accommodating us.”
  

• “This course is a gem. So is the instructor. I hope it will continue on for another 10 years.”

Francophone Course

The fourth edition of the Francophone Military Journalism course, held at the Université de Montréal from May 2-11, was a clear success. Six university students from Quebec City and Montréal participated in this nine-day course organized by the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations. The course provided an introduction to military journalism and the Canadian Armed Forces. For some of these students, it was a very much appreciated first contact with the military institution and the military world in general. The content of the course included a combination of theoretical presentations from military staffs and academics, as well as field visits to regular force and reserve units and to historical sites. The students had the chance to exchange with specialists from different fields and gain first hand experience of the training recruits go through. All the participants have given very positive feedback, saying the well balanced content gave them the necessary tools to do acute analysis on military issues. They also felt the course was a welcomed complement to their academic courses, giving them a unique advantage in the very competitive work environment of pressrooms.