We have felt that earlier GIJC's were not real global events, but too dominated by European or Northern American content and views. Thanks to generous funding from, among others, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, we are able to bring in a record high number of participants and speakers from Eastern Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
 
But: Of course we warmly welcome the Europeans and the Americans & Canadians to Lillehammer, but this time, we will like to broaden the scene even more, giving much more space to people and voices from Africa, Asia, Latin Ameria, Eastern Europe and the areas of the former U.S.S.R.
 
Basically we have six main tracks on the GIJC-2008 conference (and here are some of the seminar ideas):
 
11th September: War on Terror - among topics: what has happened to journalism after 9/11- journalists under surveillance and how to avoid it - how to protect your sources
Next days:
Follow the money - corruption - organized crime - investigating the tobacco industry - doping in sport - digging the pension funds - investigating the oil and gas business - trafficking
Should you risk it? - Ethics - safety for journalists in war zones - focus on press freedom in Putin's Russia - breaking a sex scandal in Africa and then get shut down for a year - Going undercover in a hostile environment: hidden camera and other approaches
Climate and Environment - Is climate change stealing all the attention? - How to become better environmental journalists - victims of climate change - investigating the lifes of the most stigmatized in Bangladesh with a camera -
Computer-Assisted Reporting: Class rooms with computers: Excel, Access, Mapping, Better research, Google better, Lexis Nexis course (with free access), Display your project on GoogleMaps, How to become an Online Bloddhound (3 hour school).

How to fascilitate investigative journalism: How to apply for money to your project, The Danish SCOOP & ARIJ success story, Strategies for support: Global Investigative journalism, How to create new structures for investigative journalism

We will, among other things, also look at female circumcision in Europe, investigating the Balkan war criminals, Tell how sources lie, crime and corruption in sport, how to investigate the European Union, FOIA all over the world
 
We are especially looking for cross border investigations and will among other projects present how a local, public Norwegian water works was turned into a lucrative money basin by it's boss and his family, and used to finance the buying of an South-African hunt farm, with grazing zebra's and giraffes included. Meet the Norwegian team of journalists who broke the prize winning story, and their South African journalist helper who broke an important piece of the mystery.
 
Journalists from Finland and Costa Rica cooperated on an incredible scam to sell medical equipment to Costa Rica's hospitals for over 30 MN EUROs. Most of the equipment is still collecting dust, not used because Costa Rica's hospitals really had no need for the stuff. But the local officials who landed the lucrative deal got plenty of commission, which was used to buy expensive houses and cars.

These are only a handful of a huge pile of ideas, and we say yes, thank you, to more ideas and suggestions for panels.

Do also watch out for our SPEED NETWORKING sessions where we give room for investigative journalists to meet colleagues who work in the same field - hopefully to inspire to cooperation on trans-national projects in the future.

Please send your suggestions to: jfuruly@gmail.com