Joint Training Course for NGO – Media Activists

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Al-Amal (Hope) Association, in cooperation with IraqiNews.com news agency, organized a five-day course for the workers in NGOs from different Iraqi provinces to enhance their capabilities in communicating with the media and help them to form a media strategy that will help actively exposing their organizational efforts.  Habeeb Shaker Mahmoud, head of Wassit  Handicapped Association, one of the 15 members participating in the course, told IraqiNews.com that “we have greater knowledge and information how to deal with the media, which matters we did not know before.”  “I was able to understand the rights and duties imposed on NGO activist.”  Activist Hiyam Tawfeeq, who works in the Media Center at Women for Peace Organization on Poverty Eradication, said that this course is “accumulation of expertise.”   Participant Mohammed Habeeb Al-Rawi of Development and Relief Thoughts Association in Anbar said that the “course aims at developing our potentials in the field of media for the benefit our NGO colleagues.”   IraqiNews.com head of news Hussein Mohammed Ajeel stated that “this course aims at enhancing potentialities of NGO activists from different mid Iraq provinces and to communicate in forming a media strategy that will help them to reach their targets”.  He pointed out that the course concentrates on the partnership of the civil society with the media, as a vital transporter for NGO activities.  He expressed his hope for the success of the course, due to the active interactive dialogue between the participants and the lecturers.  The topics of the training course included designing media campaigns, how to use media instruments and importance of media offices at the NGOs.   This course is the second in a series of coursed in different parts in Iraqi, within the framework of Iraqi Media Connection which implemented by Iraqi News in cooperation with Al-Amal Association. The real aim is to develop journalistic skills in different fields of writing  social reports and inquisitive journalism and enhancing journalistic skills.  The project began in 2010 and will last for the coming three years to be run by IraqiNews.com, Al-Amal Association and Internews- Europe (France) which receive its support from the European Union. RM (TI)/SR 424