INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRE KURDISTAN

Nine young journalists joined Dutch radiomaker Fieneke Diamand at the IMCK for a 3 day workshop on background radio. The workshop started at July 26, 2009. Diamand has been working for most of her career in radio, and is specialized in background programs. She worked with the participants on formula's, idea's, how to keep a longer program interesting, etc. She also visited a number of radio stations in Sulaymaniya and Halabja to discuss ways to make background programs more interesting.

IMCK -trainers are getting ready for starting the post graduate course in journalism, Media bo Khalq , on August 1, 2009. Xdir Domle , Ako Muhamed , Mazen al - Taer and Salam Ibrahim will train 30 participants from all over Iraq to become independent journalists. Canadian TV-maker Don North takes them through the details of TV-making and how to share this knowledge with the students that will join the training in Irbil . Media bo Khalk (Media for People) will be officially opened on August 1 in Irbil by a number of Kurdish and international officials.

Trainers for the Media bo Khalq project of IMCK were helped by their Dutch colleague Hans Maas to put together a curriculum for the post graduate training in journalism that starts on August 1, 2009. They worked on it for 3 days, from July 5 till July 7, 2009. Maas leads the Dutch equivalent of Media bo Khalq , a eight month course to teach graduates how to become a journalist. The Rotterdam Erasmus University has a training like that called for short PDOJ (Post Graduate Course in Journalism). Trainers for Media bo Khalq (Media for People) are Xdir Domle (lead trainer), Ako Muhammed (print), Salam Omer Ibrahim (TV) and Mazen al Taer (TV). Media bo Khalq is set up with financial aid from the Netherlands, the USA and the Kurdish prime minister. It will teach 30 students from all over Iraq. Participants still can apply, although the selection procedure has started.

Politicians and civil servants from Wassit (Al- Kut ) traveled to Irbil for workshops on the relation between politicians and the press. Four trainers from the Netherlands will brief them on how important a good relation is between press and politicians, and how to get their message across. During the week they are staying in Irbil this group of 17 people from the Iraqi province of Wassit will also be in contact with Kurdish colleagues. Trainers are Gerrit Valk and Rian van Dam, who are conducting two workshops on the importance of improving the relationship with the press to reach out to the voters. Valk is on his fourth visit to Iraq. Rommert Kruithof and Liesbeth Groenendijk are giving all the participants a media training of a day, in which they are taught how to get their message across. Kruithof is on his sixth visit to Iraq. Both have done these trainings extensively for politicians, CEO's and top managers in the Netherlands. The workshops are mirrored on a

Six former students and trainers from outside joined IMCK-trainers Xdir Domle and Shwan Muhamed for 3 days to learn how to be a co-trainer for IMCK. They will be working in future trainings of the mediacentre, along side the international trainer leading the workshop. They are also asked to use their knowledge to help their own colleagues to improve their work. New trainers are Salam Omer Ibrahim, Sardasht Aziz Mahmud, Eron Omer Alias, Esmael Ebrahim, Muhamed Kazm and Muhammed Suleiman Kadir. They will be employed in future workshops on Info graphics, internet sites and on the Media bo Khalq post graduate training starting in August.