IREX Sponsors Citizen Journalism Conference

From May 23-25 in Casablanca, Morocco, the MEPI-funded International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) conducted a workshop on “Citizen Journalism in the Maghreb.”  The 26 participants included nine Tunisians, eight Moroccans, four Algerians, one Libyan, and five other international experts.

IREX is a international non-profit organization that offers innovative leadership programs to improve education, promote the development of civil society pluralism, and strengthen independent media.  Working with MEPI on this latter goal, IREX organized a conference on citizen journalism, which includes the use of internet blogs and other mechanisms to enable a wide array of actors to report, explain, analyze, and comment on events.

In the Maghreb, a region plagued by restrictions to free press, this form of journalism has become an increasingly important development for communicating and relaying information. Many people consider these new media outlets as complementing professional journalists in providing sources of public information.

Aware of the role and potential power of citizen journalism, IREX selected and invited bloggers according to the quality and notoriety of their blogs, and aimed to establish an intersection among citizen journalists and traditional media.  Another objective of the workshop was to push for a brainstorming on how blogs could help express and broadcast a wide range of opinions.

The program allowed participants to widen their knowledge on the use of blogs and to use their own means to better produce and circulate information.  Sessions included such topics as ethics, credibility, and content quality, as well as new emerging technologies for citizen journalists.  All sessions were translate into Arabic, French, and English, and conducted or moderated by experts.  An effort was made to encourage open debates among participants.

The workshop was enhanced by the presence of Mahmood Al Youssef, a “bridge blogger” from Bahrain, who acts to reduce the gap among Sunna and Shia populations.  Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian professor of journalism living in Jordan who regularly lectures on new Arab media, also participated.  Other panelists included Clothilde Le Coz of France, the Director of the Bureau “Internet and Freedom” at Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Jamal Eddine Naji, the UNESCO Chair for Public and Community Communication.

Massir, a well-known Tunisian blogger, said this workshop was important since these types of open debates are “seldom organized for people living in the Maghreb.”  An Algerian blogger named Haddar noted the positive human aspect of the event.  “This meeting, which gathered people with different occupations and different ages, was enriching for all,” he said. 

A Moroccan blogger added: “We spent a few days together and were able to hold discussions without stonewalling or self-censorship.  It was a great experience.”  Another participant added how the bloggers at the event “felt for the first time free to think in a different way and above all free to talk and to express themselves.

All participants agreed to keep connected with each other and to continue the important discussion on citizen journalism and related topics started at this conference.