October 2009 In the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Rym Ali and His Excellency Dr. Nabil Al Sharif, Minister of State, Media and Communications, Jordan Media Institute held its graduation ceremony for JMI’s Government Spokesperson Training Course. The four day course came as a direct response to the Jordanian government’s need to elevate the standards of government communication with the media industry and the public.
JMI’s training programme was developed to help participants understand journalism to enable them to increase the transparency, credibility and relationships of ministries and governmental departments with the local and international media. JMI trained 30 spokespeople in this course and will train another 34 in the coming weeks.
In his speech, His Excellency Dr Nabil Al Sharif said that JMI’s Government Spokesperson Training Course was a result of His Majesty King Abdullah II’s vision to develop the government spokespeople sector, adding that the course represents the first collaborative effort between the government and Jordan Media Institute.
Mr. Radi Alkhas, Chairman of Jordan Media Institute’s Board of Directors said that His Majesty King Abdullah’s wishes to improve journalism and journalism education in Jordan is the catalyst behind JMI’s mission to help improve the standard of journalism education in Jordan and the region. He added that Jordan Media Institute will be launching its MA in Journalism in early 2010.
JMI’s trainers for the programme were Ms. Jane Arraf- Bureau Chief of the Christian Science Monitor, Iraq- and Mr. Hiwa Osman- former media advisor of President Jalal Talabani and now the Country Director for IWPR in Iraq.