Building Capacity of Teachers at Mass Communications and Journalism Faculties in the Arab Region on Reporting Diversity
In an environment where many working journalists lack specialist training and knowledge, and where many societal groups are not given a voice in the context of media, there is increased pressure on the academic world to bring about change to this negative situation in the MENA region through the delivery of quality journalism education at university level. Academic courses have the means to expose journalism students to the need for increased diversity in reporting, and a wider reflection of voices from social groups which are currently underrepresented in the media. The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) has initiated the delivery of modules in Reporting Diversity (RD) in a small number of universities in the Maghreb region but there is a need to rapidly expand the availability of such courses. This project aims to develop RD curricula in the Arab region by delivering training to a group of 15 professors from 10 mass communications faculties from seven countries in the MENA region. The training will consist of a 3-day workshop during which participants will acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to develop their own RD modules which they will then implement in their respective teaching institutes. This will help to build a sustainable network of media professionals in the region who will disseminate critical thought about the role of media within society relative to the inclusion of marginal voices, with the ultimate goal of expanding diversity of content. OBJECTIVE To improve the capacity of 15 teachers from mass communications faculties in the MENA region by providing a 3-day training workshop on the incorporation of Reporting Diversity modules into teaching curricula.