The training, facilitated by the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), will provide tools and methods applying to every step of the investigative process, from conception to research, writing, quality control and dissemination, as well as hands-on opportunity for planning and producing well-documented investigative reports on the hypothesis-based inquiry approach.

At the same time, the training aims to encourage public, independent and state-run media outlets to back investigative journalism as a way to improve media content and to enhance government’s and public institutions’ transparency and accountability.

This training represents a unique opportunity for journalists and editors in Tunisia, who suffered from 23 years of censorship, concentration of media ownership and lack of tradition for in-depth journalistic investigations. ARIJ’s Executive Director, Rana Sabbagh, said the change of regime in Tunisia has paved the way for local media personnel to practice in depth investigative journalism and examine issues that concern local communities.

It is expected that at the end of the training the Tunisian journalists will join ARIJ’s vast network of Arab investigative journalists and share their experiences with the others.

UNESCO has consistently supported initiatives that promote accountability and professional standards in journalism. Since 2005 the Amman-based ARIJ has been working to improve the quality of investigative reporting and nurture a culture of investigative journalism across the region, among and by Arab media professionals and activists, for the benefit of the Arab public.