© BELGIUM
The Flemish Association of Journalists (VVJ) has immediately ended its collaboration with Pol Deltour. Deltour had worked for the Flemish professional association for journalists since October 1998.
“The VVJ thanks Pol Deltour for his many years of inspiring commitment to the professional association. His contributions to journalism and press freedom in Flanders and Belgium can hardly be overestimated,” says general secretary Charlotte Michils.
Michils succeeded Deltour as general secretary on September 1, 2023 and says he has learned a lot from him. “Pol has always been there and has meant a lot to the sector. The future is assured with a team of four enthusiastic people with many talents, all of whom were trained by him.” She does not want to elaborate on the dismissal itself.
Working atmosphere
Deltour himself was willing to provide some explanation. “Let me say that there was too great a difference in views and characters at the secretariat. The working atmosphere was so bad that it was still difficult to work together. I don’t want to go into detail about that, but apparently a choice had to be made despite several attempts by me to consult with everyone. But apparently it was already too late for that.”
However, according to Deltour, there was still a minority within the board that suggested working with an external mediator, “but that was rejected. I feel that after the change of position last year, an agreement was made that I would work more in depth on all files that are relevant to journalism. But as far as I was concerned, what I was ultimately going to do did not meet the agreement.”
In addition, Deltour would like to clarify that it is not a dismissal for compelling reasons and that everything has been handled correctly. “But it’s a shame that it had to turn out this way. A few years ago I said that we should sit around the table, but that has been done far too little.”
VVJ Academy
Pol Deltour was one of the founders of the Journalism Council, the Journalists’ Authors’ Society, the Persveilig.be reporting center for aggression and violence against journalists and the Journalistenloket.be. He was also involved in the development of, among other things, a guideline for reporting on refugees and a guideline for children and youth journalism.
Since September 1, 2023, the VVJ Academy has also come under his leadership. “Pol started and expanded it. The first fact-checking projects are in the pipeline and the broad outlines have been set out. The VVJ Academy will be further monitored by us,” Michils said.
Deltour himself is disappointed that he is not allowed to complete it. “I had proposed to lead the VVJ Academy until September 1 and then leave, but that was also out of the question. I hope from the bottom of my heart for the VVJ that fresh money will be found to continue it. It is a beautiful project.”
2024-03-05 22:03:50
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