Arab journalists are on the cusp of breathtaking changes. The increasing penetration of the Internet and satellite television heralds great opportunities for bringing to audiences more news more quickly. In addition, many Arab journalists operate in societies experimenting with media reform to help create a more open press with higher journalistic standards. The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) has established a training program in the Middle East designed to encourage that process.

Election reporting workshops in Egypt
During Egypt’s first contested presidential elections, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is working on the frontlines with Egyptian journalists to produce the first nationwide voter’s guide, raising the standards of journalism in the country. ICFJ is offering a series of 10 workshops to increase the availability of factual, fair information and citizen involvement throughout the election season. (photo by Ahmad Hammad)
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Voter's guide on IJNet>
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Read local press coverage on the workshops from Al-Ahram

Wingspread Conference for Arab and American Journalists
Nov. 30 - Dec.1, 2005
ICFJ will select 20-24 journalists – 10-12 each from the Arab world and the United States – from middle-size to large media, both print and broadcast, including managing editors, foreign editors, editorial writers, senior producers and news directors, for a two-and-a-half-day conference to be held at the Wingspread facility, in Racine, Wis. At the conference, participating journalists will talk about sources of misperception, misinformation and bias in reporting, as well as strategies for overcoming these problems, and possibly eliminating these sources of miscommunication.

Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
ICFJ and 19 of the world’s leading media development organizations have come together to create an international partnership to foster the development of independent media around the world. Its first international conference will be held at the Dead Sea in Jordan in October 2005.

GFMD will provide an international forum for media assistance NGOs to share best practices in the areas of training journalists, supporting broadcast stations, newspapers, and magazines, working for open and accessible Internet and telecommunications policies, and reforming media law. GFMD also aims to convince policymakers and funders of the importance of supporting local, independent media. Finally, GFMD intends to establish standards in areas such as monitoring and evaluation to guide media NGOs in their work.

Business and economic reporting workshops
More than 45 journalists from countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, Morocco, Jordan and Iraq, took part in a series of business reporting workshops, sponsored by the Center for International Private Enterprise and administered by the International Center for Journalists with the Al Ahram Press Institute. The workshops held in January and April were designed to improve the ability of Middle Eastern and North African journalists to report effectively about business and economics and increase understanding among Arab populations of these issues.

Mideast training program for Arab journalists
The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) held a series of workshops for Arab journalists in Amman, Beirut, Damascus and Doha. Participants included Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian journalists. The programs were part of an effort to raise professional media standards in the region.

As one Syrian participant wrote: “As a journalist working with Syrian media where there are a lot of restrictions and a lack of training, this workshop has given me a unique opportunity that I would not have otherwise gotten in Syria. Many thanks to you.” Another participant from the Beirut workshop wrote, “As a first-time participant in a workshop, I was shocked and surprised at the amount of information I got from it. I had thought that the workshop would be a waste of time, but it was the exact opposite.”

Trainer Training - Investigative Reporting and Human Rights in Algeria
A workshop aimed at giving Algerian journalists the training necessary to strengthen their reporting and their news organizations, and included training in Algiers, Algeria and in participants' individual newsrooms.