partners:
Objectives:
The project aimed to facilitate progress in the MENA region’s media reform process by empowering decision makers, media regulators, audio-visual broadcast commissions and leaders of journalist unions to access knowledge and expertise.
Project Description:
The project focused on media legislation, regulating the sector; developing audiovisual programs and media strategies; and networking among organizations specialized in media development.
Project Outputs:
- Organizing two workshops entitled “Youth on Screen” with youth program experts, media leaders and civil society representatives in Jordan and six other Arab countries. The workshops aimed to establish a clear understanding of what young Jordanians expect from their national stations in order to develop television programs targeting them and serving their causes.
- Organizing a consultation meeting on creating a regional mechanism to support press freedom in the Arab world and a draft Arab Declaration on Media Freedom, with contributions from the International Federation of Journalists and the National Center for Human Rights.
- Convening a workshop to develop television programs targeting young people.
- JMI participating in project-related meetings, conferences and workshops:
- Regional Networking Event “MENA Media Schools” in Cairo.
- Regional Networking Event “MENA Media Schools” in Helsinki.
- “MedMedia Experts” meeting in Amman.
- Peer-to-Peer Meeting on “Exchanges on Gender Equality in Broadcasting” in Amman.
- Meeting on “MENA Journalism Teachers Debate Proposal to Create Regional Media Schools Network” in Casablanca.
- Conference “Stand up for free expression: raising our voice against intolerance and racism” in Paris.
- Regional Conference “Arab Declaration for Media Freedom” in Casablanca.
- Launching a project to establish an online database of women experts “Khabirat: Arabic-language directory of women experts” for use by media outlets to increase their participation as sources of news, information and opinions.
- Training Arab journalists on various skills, such as radio blogging, preparing news reports using smartphones, innovative journalism and employing social and digital media tools in sports news coverage on television and radio.
- Organizing the “Fourth Regional Networking Event for MENA Media Schools” in cooperation with Blanquerna University in Spain at the Dead Sea/Jordan. Thirty representatives from Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Iraq, Spain, Ireland, Britain and France attended the meeting. Several sessions were held covering a variety of topics:
- Studying journalism education systems in the MENA region, organized by JMI, as a foundation for a white paper that was approved by the participants.
- Reforming media education, best practices and priorities.
- Partnerships and cooperation models among media institutions to adopt media education curricula and joint projects.
- International expertise in joint projects and partnership opportunities.
- Reforming curricula and challenges in the MENA region.