Google, Alliance of Civilizations & World Bank Organize Unique Digital Journalism Training

By an IPS Correspondent Reprint | | Print |

AMMAN, May 2 2013 (IPS) - The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and Google, in partnership with the World Bank, organized a two-day Digital Training programme for 25 top social media editors and web journalists from 11 countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Syria, Libya among others. The primary focus was on web tools for better newsgathering and reporting across cultures.

The workshop was underwritten by Google and UNAOC,  and led by an international team of experts from Google, UNAOC and the World Bank.  Over 700 journalists applied for the training programme which was  livestreamed . The sessions took place at the Jordan Media Institute  in Amman,  an institute of excellence in journalism in the Arab world, which held a similar engagement for its master’s degree students the next day.

“When it comes to how information is disseminated, we are moving away from a world where a single source disseminates to many, to a model where multiple sources  disseminate to an ever growing number of people. To that end, keeping the Internet open, free and most of all accessible is key,” said UN High-Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser.

´ To me, the magic of information and communication technologies is that they enable people who would never have otherwise met to have a conversation, and maybe even, to know and understand someone else’s story. The digital bridge has closed the geographical divide”, he added.

Participants also shared cross-cultural insights and experiences, to improve regional cohesion on shared data-driven priorities. Among the participants were journalists from new blogs and mainstream media from the entire Arab World from small to large print, online and broadcast media, all eager to learn how to better use online tools.

“Google supports journalists in the Arab world with training on how to use the internet to tell better informed stories. Today’s journalist in MENA relies on a digital toolbox to find, analyze and share data with the public. Working with the UNAOC and World Bank, the high demand and positive feedback from participants in this programme has demonstrated how the web has become powerful mechanism for information sharing”, added Maha Abouelenein, head of communications for Google in the Middle East and North Africa.

The training concluded with a competition of social media strategy project, including one called “from Boston to Baghdad” that looks at citizens’ responses to acts of violence and terror, similarities and common ground to better understand each other.

Follow-up meetings will be organized in the course of the coming months via Google+ Hang Out between participants and trainers that will play the role of mentors, to maintain engagement and sustainability of the process.