INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRE KURDISTAN

August 1 rst , 2009 saw the start of Media bo Khalq , Al- I'elam lil nass , Media for People, the post graduate training in journalism of IMCK . The Kurdish minister of Culture Falahadin Kakei opened the training of young Iraqi graduates, together with minister of Foreign Relations of KRG , Falah Mustafa . While Mr Kakei talked about his past as a journalist, Mr Mustafa called the 'encouragement of a professional and free press one of the key facets' to the Kurdish social process. ,,The KRG fully believes in supporting and encouraging the establishment of a free and professional media in the Kurdistan Region'', he said. ,,Also in the US it took generations before there were good journalists'', Andrew Snow, the US Embassy Regional Reconstruction Team leader told the audience of diplomats , press and trainees. ,,Press Now is proud to be supporting the IMCK and thus Media bo Khalq '', director Leon Willems said. They joined the two Kurdish ...

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.

IMCK commenced a training for the Iranian Kurdish organisation Komala. On Monday May 3rd, 2009 IMCK-trainers Nafiss Nia and Judit Neurink started a 5 day training in civil journalism at the Komala camp just outside Sulaymaniya. The two before teamed up trained journalists in Iran in 2006. Nia is a Dutch/Iranian journalist, TV-maker, poet and writer, and she also did workshops for journalists in Afghanistan for Press Now. Part of the training will be done by Goran Baba Ali, a Dutch/Kurdish journalist working on websites (mainly Ex-ponto). At the workshop at the Komala camp 17 journalists and media workers attended. They will be working on news, interview and reportage. Komala has its own TV-station and newspaper.