18 regional print and web journalists gathered in Tangier, Morocco, between 20-24 March 2012, for a five day Responsible Journalism course, organised by the Media Diversity Institute. They were five days of intense and animated discussions on the rules, dangers, risks, pitfalls, and duties and responsibilities of the profession.
All the participants were encouraged to confront and become aware of their own pre-conceived ideas, not only about politicians, but also about the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the handicapped and a myriad of other marginalised groups which are usually forgotten or are not particularly represented in a favourable light.
By the end of the course, all the participants had produced reports to be published in their news outlet on topics such as: heavy handed police methods, the Shia & the Sunni in Morocco, a cancer patient’s profile, Tariq Ramadan’s lecture, rehabilitated drug addicts, news websites vs. traditional newspapers, under-age rape, and forced marriages.
The course was organised within the framework of the Media Diversity Institute’s 2 year project ‘Media Evolution: Towards an Inclusive, Responsible & Independent Media in Morocco’, supported by the European Union Delegation in Rabat.
It was one of 5 training courses for journalists, among many other activities, including round table debates, training for NGOs and TV programmes, that will be organised during the life of the project. The objectives of the project are to encourage a public debate on the future of the Moroccan media, ensure greater coverage of social diversity in the media, improve freedom of expression and access to information, ensure greater responsibility by the media through self-regulation, and improve respect of media freedom by the government.
Dates: 20-24 March 2012
Region: Tangier, Morocco
Nenad Radoja
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