IAWRT Iraq-Kurdistan joins World Press Freedom Day forum

0504 iawrt iraq zoom

Forum with Syrian and Kurdish journalists

Forum on “Media and civil society institutions in the time of Corona. Freedom versus responsibility. Are we ready?”.

by Binay Shorsh

 

 

On World Press Freedom Day, the Syrian Kurdish Journalists Union in cooperation with the Amsterdam-based Free Press Unlimited held a virtual seminar through the Zoom.

 

Two members of the IAWRT Iraq-Kurdistan chapter joined the seminar: Awaz Salim Abdullah, chapter head and Niaz Abdullah.

 

The following resource persons participated in the forum:

Dr. Abeer Saady – Vice President of IAWRT

Ahmed Sheikh Sidi – Director of Programs at the Center for Civil Society and Democracy

Ali Nimer – Official, Violations Documentation Office, Syrian Kurdish Journalist Union

 

The symposium dealt with the violations that journalists are exposed: in particular, the reality of journalistic work in the region, and in general, the challenges facing journalistic work in light of the current coronavirus disease crisis. They also discussed the role of civil society organizations under the current circumstances and their contribution to meeting the needs of society.

 

Another relevant topic was raised in the discussion: Does the independent Syrian media touch on the suffering of people and reflect their fears?

 

The participants of the seminar also sent messages of solidarity to IAWRT Philippines members who were arrested on May 1 as they were reporting on a protest against the killing of an activist just the day before. They were detained for a day and were released on bail and will still continue to face the charges filed against them. They also joined the online protest calling to free women journalists around the world.