Jordan is home to one of the fastest growing Internet populations in the world. Over half the population has access to a smartphone, making the Internet an important space for average citizens to access news, engage in discussions, blog, publish videos and photos, and organize and mobilize as groups. In just 5 years, local electronic news (e-news) websites have grown to become the primary source of breaking news for most Jordanians. However, this has been accompanied by threats to individuals’ privacy and censorship attempts by the state. In mid-2012, the Press and Publications Law was...
IPDC project priority: Promoting Freedom of Expression and Media Pluralism
Ecuador has recently approved a Communications Law that restricts the exercise of free expression. In order to minimize this Law's potential for self-censorship and external interference and to build a culture of high-quality journalism, this project will train journalism students, journalists and media leaders on best practices (including self-regulation, transparency and high ethical standards).
Traditional media, citizen journalism and community radio have been important in setting the stage for change in Egypt. As the country transitions towards democracy, the media has a higher responsibility to raise awareness on political, social and cultural issues, such as expression of the right to freedom of expression. The massive use of non-professional footage by traditional channels such as Al Jazeera and the fast development of citizen blogs and websites to report on the events has brought an alternative method to hold the government and authorities accountable. Citizens, especially...
Most local and regional media outlets in Peru have very limited financial, technical and professional resources, which negatively affects production quality. Journalists lack knowledge about the Law of Access to Public Information and make few requests for information on sensitive state issues such as corruption. Given that journalists can play a central role in acting as watchdogs and stimulating public debate, it is essential to promote access to public information. This project shall therefore work with journalists and lawyers to develop a special programme for requesting the...
At a time when Algerian universities are training thousands of students in information and communication sciences, the media sector has flourished in terms of job opportunities. However, both private and public print-media companies have been reluctant in opening their doors to graduates. Many French-language newspapers are instead turning to graduates of the natural sciences and foreign languages. It is for this reason that the Ecole nationale supérieure de journalisme et des sciences de l’information (ENSJSI) has decided to propose a course aimed at re-training scientists, economists and...
Journalists in Venezuela face obstacles to fulfilling their professional duties, such as restricted access to public information. In order to overcome some of these obstacles, journalists (particularly investigative reporters) would benefit from working with IT experts to develop data management and digital information security tools, such as instruments to extract information of public interest from the web and databases to store that information. This project will therefore equip 100 journalists, journalism professors and web designers with skills in data management and digital...
The Ecole Nationale d’Administration was established in 1966 to train senior-level Mauritanian government officials, and in this capacity it was entrusted with the task of setting up the Journalism Institute. Since 2011, the Institute has been offering an initial training programme in journalism as well as an ongoing training programme for practising journalists. Since then, it has been operating under the name Ecole nationale d’administration, du journalisme et de la magistrature (ENAJM) (National School of Administration, Journalism and Magistracy). This project provides for a training...
Since the beginning of the Moroccan protests in February 2011, in which citizens took to the streets to demand genuine democratic reform and respect for human rights, numerous protesters have been attacked by law enforcement officials. Likewise, a large number of media professionals, both Moroccan and foreign, have suffered and continue to suffer from the violent reactions of a regime that practises information control. Since its creation in 2010, OFIE has been aware of a large number of cases and has received complaints from numerous victims. However, it often finds itself faced with a...
In 2013, the government of El Salvador established the Institute for Access to Public Information to sanction violations of the Access to Public Information Law. However, the general public - particularly rural citizens - lack awareness of the Institute and its mandate. The proposed project will therefore train community journalists in remote areas of El Salvador on how to educate the public on their rights and responsibilities regarding this Law.
The post-revolution media sector in Tunisia has entered an uncertain stage, characterised by a lack of clear regulation and confusion about ethical standards. Most media professionals do not differentiate between criticism and defamation, while some managers incite their employees to go beyond ethical limits in order to increase audience size. Unfortunately, there is no press council to ensure self-regulation. The unethical behaviour of Tunisian media workers leads to distrust amongst ordinary citizens for mainstream media.
To address this issue, the Tunis Centre for Press...
Pages
