DILI, Timor-Leste --When students at the Universidade de Paz wanted to publish a student newspaper, they turned to ICFJ Saul Salvador H. J. Amaral for help.

Amaral, who attended UNPAZ, is a member of ICFJ-Dili’s special projects team. He organized a series of lectures and hands-on training by a group of ICFJ trainers including Dave Bloss, Jody McPhillips, Paula Rodrigues, Afonso Xavier “Woytila” Pereira, Aleixo da Costa Ximenes, and Carlos de Jesus.

Beginning in May, the trainers visited a group of students twice weekly for a five-week period at the UNPAZ campus, a cluster of partially built structures in a leafy suburb of Dili. They taught reporting and newswriting, ethics , layout and design and helped the students decide what stories to cover.

Country Director Dave Bloss said he has been impressed with the commitment shown by the UNPAZ students. “The staff is really dedicated,” he said. “We hope we can help them both with facilities and further training in the future.”

He said ICFJ plans to continue providing support “throughout the school year.”

The students are currently working on their third issue. The press run of 1,000 is distributed to students and faculty in Dili and to five branch campuses around the country.

Antonio Luis Maria da Costa Soares, who heads ICFJ’s business development unit, is advising the students and training them in advertising production and sales.

DeJesus, an editor at the Timor Post and a popular ICFJ trainer, serves as permanent advisor for the UNPAZ team and works with them closely on each issue, editing stories and critiquing layouts.

The success of the student newspaper has sparked interest on other campuses. Students at the National University of Timor-Leste plan to produce a newspaper in the future, once UNTL’s Radio Akademika is broadcasting regularly.