INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRE KURDISTAN

Frits van Exter, editor-in-chief of Vrij Nederland, started on Thursday April 29 his 4-day consultancy for the independent newspaper Awena. Frits will advise the editors how they can improve their newsroom management.

On April 28 Lukas Morawski started his second training in Sulaymania, this time for Gali Kurdistan. He will provide a 5-day sound and light training for the satellite channel. Lukas will inform the participants how to use sound and light in the studio's and outside. He will also discuss the different types of equipment they can use to imporve the quality of their shows and reportages. Lukas brought some good equipment from Holaand to show to the participants. This was sponsered by www.deherrieboederij.com .

The editors-in-chief of Hawlati , Awena , Roshnama , Komal and Aso discussed together with Judit Neurink , director of IMCK , what to put in the code of ethics for journalists . This group will make a draft for a code of ethics for reporting during the local elections in Onctober . After that they will present it to the other media outlets and they will invite them to join them on this code.

On April 26 Lukas Morawski finished his training at Kurdsat about sound and light for camera men . Eight employees of the satellite channel got an IMCK certificate for participating in the training . The training will be monitored by the staff of IMCK.

Print journalists from Kirkuk started a five day training at the IMCK on reporting on local issues. 15 journalists from different backgrounds, working for different newspapers in Kirkuk, gathered at the mediacentre in Sulaymaniya for the training which takes place from April 26 till May 3. Trainer is Robert Slagt, who teaches journalism in Amsterdam and who has been working as a freelance journalist for many years. Co-trainer is Mohammed Kirkukly, IMCK's coordinator in Kirkuk, translator Ferman Fazil also from Kirkuk. IMCK director Judit Neurink conducted the opening.

Dutch cameraman Lukas Morawski started a five day workshop at the Kurdish TV satellite channel Kurdsat to share his knowledge on sound and lights. Cameramen at Kurdsat will learn how to improve the sound and light situation in a studio and outside, and how to play with it to make the best picture. He also shows new equipment and techniques. After the Kurdsat training Morawski will repeat his workshop for his colleagues at Gali Kurdistan TV. Both stations are based in Sulaymaniya.

Journalist and IMCK senior trainer Xdir Domle was presented with one of the Soran Mama Hama awards for his contribution to the development of the media in Iraqi Kurdistan. Domle was presented with the prize during a ceremony in Sulaymaniya on April 22, 2010. Domle is known in Iraq for his independent reporting, for many different media. For IMCK he is the senior trainer in many workshops, and also in the post graduate training Media bo Khalk (Media for People).

Lizan Hardi and Judit Neurink started their first workshop for journalists on HIV and AIDS on April 19. They will repaet the workshop the following two days. In Kurdistan the disease is still a taboo, a lot of people say it doesn't exist, there are no statistics on how many people are infected. Lizan, specialist in blood-diseases, will inform the journalists about HIV and AIDS and other STD's. Judit will teach them how to make news of this subject and stimulate them to think about how to inform the people.

During an official ceremony in Erbil 16 participants of Media bo Khalk (Media for People, Al-Alam al-nas) were presented with their certificates. The sixteen have finished eight months of training in journalism, including internships at Iraqi media outlets. The ceremony was attended by members of the press, editors in chief, politicians, diplomats and others. KRG-minister of Culture Kawa Mahmoud held a speech about the importance of professional media for the development of democracy in his country. Ari Harsin spoke for KDP and mentioned how important it is for Kurds and Arabs in Iraq to work together, stressing the importance of projects like Media bo Khalk for the whole of Iraq. The chargé d´affairs ad interim at the Dutch embassy in Baghdad, Lars Tummers, explained to the audience that the Dutch are good at bringing quality media to other countries, and Michael Mussi, Provincial Action Officer at the US Reconstruction Team in Erbil drew a picture of the role of the media in a socie