INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRE KURDISTAN

The Independent Media Centre in Kurdistan (IMCK) celebrates its fourth anniversary this year. In these four years IMCK has worked hard to professionalize the media sector in Iraq. Our mission: to bring about a professional media-sector that is capable of giving voice to the Iraqi people and providing them with truthful information.   Since its foundation IMCK has continually been training professionals in all main media sectors (such as TV, Radio, Press and Internet) on almost every imaginable subject, ranging from editing training for TV-items to trainings on how to report on national heritage and natural resources, such as oil and gas. Returning every year are trainings on the basics of journalism, photography and on the reporting on people. Besides trainings and workshops, IMCK has set-up a post-graduate course in journalism for young Iraqis called Media bo Khalk (Media for People). The course is unique in its kind: Media bo Khalk teaches its students from all...

The third edition of IMCK's post graduate course Media bo Khalk/Media for People ended on Sunday June 17, 2012 with a ceremony at the Safeer Hotel in Erbil. The 22 participants of the course received their certificates out of the hands of Nawzad Hadi, the governor of Erbil, Sasan Awni of the KDP organisations bureau and Stephane Tellier of the French Cultural Centre. Governor Nawzad Hadi announced in his speech his support for the course, after IMCK directeur Judit Neurink explained how difficult it is to find the funding - while at the same time more than half of all the students of the different Media bo Khalk courses are now working in journalism. Of Media bo Khalk 3 already a number of the students found a job as a journalist with one of the Iraqi media outlets. Former minister of Anfal and Martyrs, Chnar Saad Abdullah, who now leads the KDP Organisations Bureau, talked about the importance of good media for parties in Iraq, while IMCK board member and former editor ...

On April 23 in Erbil, IMCK started with a five day workshop on human rights for the students of Media bo Khalk, the postgraduate course in journalism. Law lecturer and journalist Ruth Hopkins will teach the students more about human rights and its relevance to journalism. In Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq journalists still face a lack of freedom of expression. Journalists, activists and demonstrators still get beaten, intimidated, and detained according to Human Rights Watch . The workshop will provide information about the international legal framework of human rights, how human rights are relevant to social issues, daily life and the professional context of journalism. Analytical and a practical assignments will be given to the students. The workshop is made available with the help of the Dutch embassy in Baghdad. See our Facebook .

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...

This is one of the questions presenter Ahmed Thgeel asks to students from Jamia University in Baghdad for Furat TV. Ahmed, a former student from the IMCK postgraduate course Media bo Khalk (Media for People) has started working as a presenter for the satellite channel since the beginning of 2012. IMCK is happy to see that a big part of its students finds work in the media industry. It was very soon clear that Ahmed has a talent for presenting. Mustafa Al-Ani, co-trainer in the course, says: "Ahmed has a natural presence on screen. He was never afraid of the camera, and talked very freely. Also from his choice of topics in presenting I noticed he was always close to the people of Iraq." In the program Ahmed is joined by again a former student of Media bo Khalk, Mohammed Monica. Mohammed, a freelance filmmaker, is this time in front of the camera as a guest on the show of Furat TV. His interview is in the 22 minute of the programme. The theme of the show is about fash...

Alumni from the IMCK postgraduate course Media bo Khalk (Media for People) visited the Mesopotamian marshes in the southern Iraqi province Basra in March 2012. The old students were on assignments for international and local media. During the late eighties and nineties draining of the marshes took place under the Saddam regime. Before 2003 the marshes shrunk to 10% of their original (20.000 km2) size. Nowadays they have partially recovered, but drought along with upstream dam construction and operation in Turkey, Syria and Iran have hindered the process. The alumni went to the city of Chibaish, the Central and Hammar Marsh to see how people were living there and the problems the area faces. After finishing their education about 70% of all students found work in print and broadcast journalism in Iraq and outside. Munaf Al Saidy (27) is a talented print journalist and photographer for the German news agency Deutsche Welle . See the photo-story Munaf Ghanim has made for DW about...

International trainer Elin Wyn returned to Kurdistan to conduct a second workshop for IMCK's post graduate training Media bo Khalk (People for People). This time she teaches the basics of radiomaking. The five day workshop started on February 10, 2012 and involves all the present students of Media bo Khalk. The workshop is the result of the cooperation between IMCK and the Falmouth College University, which is involved in improving the level of the post graduate training.

The TV group of Media bo Khalk, the post graduate training of IMCK, started on a second international week of TV making. Al Jazeera reporter Mustafa Zriad returned to Kurdistan to train the group on interview and reportage. Zriad will work with the TV group for 5 days, and make them work in a very practical way. He starts off where TV trainer Karin Greep left off a couple of weeks ago, making sure the students have a good basic knowledge and improve their basic skills. The training was made possible through sponsoring by the Doha Centre for Media Freedom, DC4MF.

Dutch parliamentary Harry van Bommel, who is member of the foreign affairs committee in the Dutch parliament for the SP, visited Media bo Khalk on Sunday January 15, 2012. He was interviewed by the students on the aim of his visit. The information will be used on the website the students will be making as part of their internet training that started earlier in the day. Van Bommel is in Iraqi Kurdistan on invitation of KDP. He is working to get the Dutch government to recognize Anfal and the attack on Halabja as genocide, and at the same time is trying to find support for activities for Dutch companies in the Kurdish region.

Students of Media bo Khalk, the post graduate training by IMCK running in Erbil, on Sunday January 15, 2012 started a course on the use of internet for journalists. Trainer Elin Wyn came from Cardiff to teach them in five days how to report on internet, how to use internet for finding information and news and how to make a simple website. Both print and TV students take part. Co-trainer is Sardasht Aziz, who earlier taught the group the principles of working on internet. Ms Wyn is representing Falmouth College University, which is supporting Media bo Khalk with advise and trainers, to make sure the course will grow into a masters in journalism.

Students of the TV-group of IMCK's post graduate course Media bo Khalk started on their first 'international week'. TV-maker Karin Greep, who has been part of the curriculum in the earlier versions of Media bo Khalk as well, came to Erbil to teach  them how to make news items for TV. Greep is an experienced journalist working with different TV stations in the Netherlands. The training started on Sunday January 7, 2012 at the training centre of IMCK in Erbil and will last for 5 days. International weeks, with expert trainers from outside Iraq, will be held regularly until the end of the course in May 2012 to offer knowledge and support the training by local Iraqi trainers.

Media bo Khalk, the post graduate course  in journalism by IMCK was opened officially in Erbil, on Sunday November 13, 2011. The Dutch embassador Jeroen Roodenburg opened the course together with two former students of earlier editions of Media bo Khalk. Roodenburg made a comparison of diplomats and journalists and concluded that they both are curious, they report and they care about people. The difference is their public, as diplomats are reporting in confidentiality. The Assistent Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of KRG, dr Didar Zebari, spoke of his support for IMCK in setting up an important training course for journalists like Media bo Khalk. As did former KRG minister Chnar Abdullah, who pointed to the importance of professional journalism for the development of Iraq. IMCK board member Rebin Rasul explained the importance of good education for starters in journalism, from his own experience when working for the Kurdish newspaper Hawlati.

Students for the third edition of Media bo Khalk/Media for People/Al Ilam lil nas arrived in Erbil on Saturday November  12. The first group of students from Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk etc were briefed by project manager Saman Penjwini and the trainers Khaled Sulaiman (lead trainer), Ako Mohammed (print) and Aram Saeed. The formal opening of the post graduate course will take place on Sunday November 13, 2011 at the Safeer Hotel in Erbil.

The 22 students of Media bo Khalk (Al Ilam al nas, Media for People) 2010/2011 were presented with certificates to celebrate the end of their 8 months post graduate course in journalism. The ceremony took place on Monday July 4, 2011 in Erbil. Guest speakers were the KRG Minister of Culture, Youth and Media, Kawa Mahmoud, and Public Diplomacy officer Selim Ariturk of the US RRT in Erbil. They both spoke about the importance of independent and professional media for Iraq. Falah Mustafa Bakir, the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations of KRG, sent a letter in which he stated that 'maintaining honesty and helping build hope and heal the wounds of the past is the signal role that journalists play'. The second Media bo Khalk was possible thanks to American, Dutch and Kurdish funds. The latter came from PUK leader Mallah Bachtiar, and from former KRG prime minister Nerchirvan Barzani, who explained in a letter the reason for his support is 'the need f...

International trainer Ruth Hopkins started a special week on human rights with the students of the post graduate course in journalism, Media bo Khalk. She will show the students what human rights are, in what way journalists can report on them. She will also give the students a basic view on international law, on what consequences these have for the situation in Iraq. The course will focuss on human rights all over the world, not only in Iraq. Hopkins trains on the same subject at the Journalism Academy in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

International trainer Joris van de Kerkhof started on Saturday April 2, 2011, on a short training on radio making with the students of the IMCK post graduate course in journalism, Media bo Khalk. Students will be introduced to the concept of radio, and be taught how to produce interesting items for radio making use of sounds they record. Van de Kerkhof will also talk with them about interviewing techniques for radio. The students started on their last month training. In May and June they will be working as an intern at different media in Iraq.

The teamleader of the Regional Reconstruction team of the US in Erbil visited the IMCK offices in Sulaymaniya on Tuesday November 30, 2010. Alex Laskaris talked to the staff and IMCK director Judit Neurink about the work of IMCK and the situation of the press in Iraqi Kurdistan. A day later, on Wednesday December 1 the charge d´affairs of the Dutch embassy in Baghdad, Lars Tummers, also came to IMCK. He was shown around and briefed on the projects that IMCK is conducting. Both the American RRT and the Dutch embassy support IMCK´s main project, Media bo Khalk, the post graduate training that runs in Erbil.

The 26 students of Media bo Khalk, the post graduate training of IMCK in Erbil, started their first training by a trainer from outside. Awene webdesigner and IMCK co-trainer Sardasht Aziz teaches them three days on the basics of internet. What is internet, how does it work, what can you use it for, how to email, how to use google, etc He is being assisted by Hassan Salah, a former student of last year´s Media bo Khalk.

Arabic and Kurdish songs, speeches, a short film and a short play featured at the official opening of the post graduate course in journalism by IMCK, Media bo Khalk/Media for People/Al Ilam al-Nas on November 14, 2010 in Erbil. The opening was committed by Nawzad Hadi, the governor of Erbil. He spoke of the importance of the capital of Kurdistan, and of good training for journalists. ,,We have learned that military rule on people is not successful and try to keep away from that. The role of the media as a fourth power is an important one to improve.´´ Dale Prince spoke for the Regional Reconstruction Team of the US Embassy about press freedom. ,,Prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty´´, he quoted US president Obama. IMCK director Judit Neurink spoke about the task the new students have in front of them: to become professional journalists and play a role in helping Iraqs development into a democracy. Some of the students of this second version of Media bo Khalk, whic...

The second edition of Media bo Khalk (Media for People, Al-Ilam al-Nas) is starting on November 2, 2010 in the new IMCK offices and training halls in Erbil. Thirty graduates from all over Iraq will participate in the training which lasts 8 months. The formal opening of the course will take place on November 14, with a ceremony in the Hotel Safeer in Erbil.