INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRE KURDISTAN

On 16 April 2012 Arabic and Kurdish students of Media bo Khalk, the IMCK postgraduate course in journalism, had a field trip in Sulaymaniya. Most of the media are based in the cultural capital of Kurdistan. The excursion was organized to visit four media outlets, so the students could experience the real working atmosphere of media. They got to build on their network by meeting editors-in-chief and other people in the industry. And they learned about the challenges they might face as real journalists. It was a good experience for the students who will start their in internship in the beginning of May 2012 at a variety of media outlets. Media The group of seventeen journalists in training were welcomed by PUK Media, Awena newspaper, NRT and Kurdsat TV. The first visit was with Karwan Anwar, the editor-in-chief of PUK Media and vice chairman of the Journalists Syndicate in Sulaymaniyah. Karwan explained the workings of the PUK website, for example that they operate in fi...

Seven Kurdish editors in chief and IMCK sent an open letter to the Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and the Kurdish president Massoud Barzani urging them to work on journalists' safety. ,,Journalists no longer feel happy and secure'', the open letter says, as attacks on journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan are increasing. The letter was written after the attack on Awene director Asos Hardi, and refers to hundreds of the incidents against journalists that took place since the demonstrations in Iraqi Kurdistan of early Spring. ,,The work of journalists and their freedom are in a crisis that will affect the reputation of the Kurdistan region'', the letter says, ,,and that will draw international attention''. The editors in chief and IMCK warn that if the attacks do not stop, and if the Kurdistan Journalists Law is not applied as it should be, freedom of speech will be in danger. They ask the presidents for a legal investigation of those cases that involve attacks...

Kurdsat TV-maker Hemen Amin was presented with the first prize in the contest of the Swedish organisations Qandil and Global Reporting, on reporting on water usage and wastage. His news item on the way people in Kurdistan waste water was chosen as the winner of the contest. He will visit Sweden this year as part of his prize. The prize was the result of three workshops IMCK conducted with Global Reporting on the huge wastage of drinking water in Kurdistan. A jury consisting of Ari Harsin (former head of Awene Erbil office and former IMCK trainer), Sabah Abdulrahman (Unami) and IMCK director Judit Neurink choose the three best out of 26 items and stories. A second prize was for Ferman Abdurachman of Rozhnama newspaper, the third went to Asos Serawi of Awene newspaper.

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.

IMCK-trainer Maaike Veen started a 5-day workshop with nine of the staff of Awene newspaper, on reporting on economic issues. The training started on Sunday June 21, 2009 at the training hall of IMCK in Sulaymaniya. The workshop should result in a new economics page for Awene. Veen is teaching the Avene-reporters which issues would be interesting for their readers, how te report on them and what business and economic reporting really is about. Awene is an independent weekly newspaper, printed in Sulaymaniya. The training is mainly funded by the Dutch ngo Press Now.

Hawlati was the last newspaper Dutch trainer Nynke La Porte visited during her 6 day tour of Kurdish media for IMCK. She informed her Kurdish colleagues on how to report during and before elections, especially when a new opposition group joins the election race. She finished her tour on June 11. Journalists of Hawler newspaper, Kurdsat TV, Barzan newspaper, Zagros TV, Awene newspaper and Hawlati newspaper all went to the streets to ask people who they would vote for, and why. They found many people expected to vote for the new Change List, and the ruling parties KDP and PUK would be losing seats in the Kurdish parliament. Also, the subjects people found interesting, differed from what some journalists expected. Voters are mainly concerned about jobless youth, failing justice, water, electricity and roads. Safety is hardly an issue for voters in Kurdistan.

With parliamentary elections planned for July 25, IMCK is organising 6 workshops of a day on how to report before and during elections. Dutch trainer Nynke La Porte started on Saturday June 6 at Hawler newspaper in Irbil. La Porte is a Dutch journalist, who reported on at least 3 elections in the Netherlands. She is making a comparison with Dutch elections which were dominated by a new party, which was even predicted to become the biggest party in the Netherlands. In Kurdistan new parties have emerged, most importantly the Change List, which is predicted to take many votes. Hawler is a daily newpaper which prints 25.000 copies a day and is distributed for free in the whole of the Kurdish region. Other media to be trained will be Barzan, Zagros TV, Kurdsat TV, Awene and Rojnama.