INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRE KURDISTAN

Last Friday we started up a five day course in Erbil to improve the quality of human rights reporting. Journalists from TV, radio, print and human rights groups attend the IMCK training centre. They are trained in human rights and minority rights reporting by IMCK trainers Khaled Sulaiman and Khidher Domle. The participants are taught how to write human and minority rights stories, coming from their own communities. More pictures of this training are to be found on Facebook .

With more than 20 enthusiastic young women from Kalar and the surrounding region, the 4 week basic journalism training was opened yesterday. The major of the Garmiyan region, Mr. Salah Kwekha, and representatives of the Department of Culture were present during the grand opening of this course IMCK organized with great help from Western Zagros. Over the past weeks the participating women have been recruited. Several radio stations and media offices send participants who are eager to become journalists. The first training day was kicked off by IMCK lead trainer Khaled Sulaiman, who explained to the participants that this first week is all about news. What is news and where does it come from? A flying start of a first training week! Pictures can be found on Facebook

Due to the poor state of health of the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani IMCK, STATT and the Ministry of Culture decided to cancel the Documentary Festival 'Illusion of Paradise'.

IMCK, together with STATT and the Ministry of Culture, organizes Documentary Festival 'Illusion of Paradise' in Erbil on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 16-19.30. The central theme is illegal migration, we will show local and international documentaries, art work and photos. Please join us in Peshawa Hall!

IMCK trainer Sardasht Aziz leads a three day on the job training for PUK in Kirkuk. The participants will learn all about the use of social media like Facebook and twitter. Questions like how to find and spread news online, how to present your own profile and how to build up and maintain a network using social media will be discussed. Trainer Sardasht is accompanied by co-trainer Bahar. More pictures to be found on Facebook .

Finally... we found trainers who allow you to use your phone during trainings! Today is the kick off of the three day training of trainers 'story maker', making and spreading stories with a wireless reporting application. The international trainers, Brian and Steve, will show the participants how to use the newly developed application and how to get their news and stories spread. The application can provide a new way of working for civic reporters, human right workers and professional journalists. More photos of today's training are to be found on Facebook .

Julia is a journalist from the United Kingdom. She mostly worked with the BBC, producing programmes for BBC Radio 4, reporting and training journalists. She was also Head of Development and senior producer with an independent Television production company. Until a few months ago she ran Television Journalism on the M.A. Broadcast Journalism course at the University of Central Lancashire. Julia Shaw: ''Becoming Director of IMCK is a great challenge and one I am looking forward to very much. I share the vision and values of IMCK and hope to develop and grow our organisation."