A group of parliamentary committee staffers learned how to become effective communicators in the fourth Journalism Training Program (JTP) workshop of a series focused on Lebanese legislative affairs. 

”The workshop was important, useful and professional, and I hope to attend another training course,” commented Assaad Nassar, from the National Defense Committee.

His views were echoed by other participants in the five-day training course in November 2010 on communication/media crisis management conducted by the JTP and funded by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD).

Abu-Fadil and Kabbara with parliamentary staff trainees and WFD’s Sarah El-Yafi

Trainees learned about building bridges with the media, deadlines for different news organizations, how press offices operate, writing news releases, capitalizing on technological advances to promote their issues, and setting up digital newsrooms.

Hala Awada, a researcher in parliament’s Studies and Information Directorate, was particularly keen to acquire news writing skills as well as the ability to use the Internet more effectively in her daily work. 

Participants became familiar with the role of official spokespeople and having plans in place for crises, to facilitate dealing with journalists in times of trouble.

The art of the interview, media ethics and the organization of news conferences were among the topics covered in the workshop. 

Journalist Ibrahim Arab was on hand to familiarize participants with on-camera appearances, while parliamentary reporter/editor Akram Hamdan helped them with writing exercises.

For Omar Chehadeh, secretary of the Media and Communications Committee, it was an opportunity to benefit from practical exercises and case studies related to legislative matters. 

Finance and Budget Committee staffer Kassem Gharib felt he could apply most of what he learned in his job, while Lina Hobeich, who heads the Francophone Department, suggested all parliamentary employees be trained in dealing with the media.

JTP director Magda Abu-Fadil was the primary trainer, aided by veteran journalist Rouba Kabbara in the second WFD-funded workshop for parliamentary staffers.

Lebanese journalists delved into the intricacies of covering Lebanon’s parliament with the aim of familiarizing them with legislative affairs, budget matters, elections laws, interviewing techniques and media ethics. 

”The information I got will help in my field work, notably details regarding elections laws, with which I wasn’t familiar,” said Rackel Moubarak of MTV.

Moubarak was one of ten participants in a course conducted in September 2010 by the Journalism Training Program (JTP) and funded by the London-based Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), as part of a four-year agreement to train reporters and parliamentary staffers.

“I learned about the government’s Accounting and Audit Office and the budget and how it is approved,” said the National News Agency’s Rana Hage at the third in a series of workshops underwritten by WFD.

The training included sessions on preparation of the budget by World Bank economist Wael Mansour and communications officer Mona Ziade; understanding the auditing process by Judge Elie Maalouf; and a review of parliamentary resources by its chief librarian Amal Tarhini. 

Asked how he planned to use the knowledge he acquired from the workshop, freelancer for Assafir daily and blogger Assaad Thebian replied: “Examination of laws pertaining to any subject I cover.”

Other trainees included journalists from ANB TV, Sawt Al Shaab Radio, OTV, Le Commerce du Levant, the Tashnag Party media, Women and Business, and Shououn Jenoubiyya magazine.

Almost all admitted little familiarity of parliament’s rules, procedures and inner workings.

Also on hand for the training was the British Embassy’s Piers Cazalet, Deputy Head of Mission and acting as Charge, who briefed the journalists on his country’s parliamentary system and how MPs are held accountable. 

JTP director Magda Abu-Fadil provided the requisite discussion on media ethics, while veteran journalist Denise Rahme Fakhry helped out with writing, editing and interviewing skills.

Sixteen staffers from various Lebanese parliamentary departments, parties, and blocs sharpened their communications skills at a workshop conducted by the Journalism Training Program (JTP) and sponsored by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD).

“We’d like other workshops on different topics because this training was dynamic and more productive than previous ones we’ve attended,” said Youssef El Hajj, the secretary of a parliamentary committee.

Participants were immersed in the details of building bridges with the media, dealing with deadlines, public affairs priorities, writing news releases, setting up a digital newsroom, and exploring the role of spokespeople and media crisis management.

“In a brief period we learned a lot of new theoretical and practical things, and we corrected some misconceptions we had,” said Rita Nassour, an assistant to Free Patriotic Movement MP Ibrahim Kanaan.

Other trainees from the Kataeb Party and Progressive Socialist Party took turns learning interviewing techniques and the art of organizing a news conference at the five-day mini-course held at Parliament’s library in April 2010.

They were joined by staffers from Parliament’s IT department, the library, and different administrative offices.

JTP director Magda Abu-Fadil joined forces with trainers Rouba Kabbara, an Agence France-Presse veteran, and Saad Hattar, a BBC correspondent dispatched by the Thomson-Reuters Foundation, which is partnering with WFD for the workshops in Lebanon.

The trainers also briefed the staffers on media ethics, planted news stories, conflicts of interest, and their stakeholders’ visual identities.

The trainees staged mock news conferences, and Hattar demonstrated the pitfalls of journalists’ tough questions and ambush interviews. 

”It was particularly beneficial to me as I am now more insistent on transparency and accuracy in the dissemination of news,” said Houtaf Dham, a reporter for Al Bina’ newspaper and a member of the Syrian Socialist Party, adding that she hoped the workshop would be held again for other staffers.

Eighteen North African bloggers gathered in Rabat in February 2010 for a workshop on constructive and effective writing, notably about conflicts, and on upgrading their social media skills, despite censorship problems and various technical constraints in the Maghreb region.

Journalism Training Program director Magda Abu-Fadil co-conducted the training sponsored by Washington-based NGO Search for Common Ground (SFCG) with sessions on the evolution of blogging and online media ethics.

The bloggers and activists from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia put their newly-acquired knowledge and ideas to the test, with Naoufel Chaara writing that the workshop had surpassed his expectations.

“Admittedly, I was wrong. The SFCG training (http://www.sfcg.org/sfcg/sfcg_home.html) didn’t match my pre-set idea about workshops and conferences where we suffer from boring speakers and doze off,” he said. “Today, a lot of things will change.:The dynamic nature of the workshop allowed the bloggers to learn, interact, take pictures, shoot video, and post content as they discussed what they can and cannot do in their respective countries.

Morocco enjoys relatively more cyber freedom than its neighbors, followed by Algeria. On the other hand, Tunisia maintains a stranglehold on access to social media vehicles.The workshop was made possible by Leena El-Ali, director of SFCG’s Partners in Humanity program that works to positively affect how individuals and groups in the West and the Muslim world think and feel about cross-cultural issues.

Moroccan journalist/blogger Rachid Jankari, director of MIT Media (www.mit.media.com) and publisher of www.maroc-it.ma, kept the charged pace going, introducing participants to the latest in cyber offerings and tutoring them on how to master the use of various Web tools.

Also on hand was Mohamed Daadaoui, assistant professor of Political Science at Oklahoma City University whose Maghreb Blog http://maghreblog.blogspot.com/ focuses on politics, economic trends, and news of the Maghreb region.