PHOTO BY: Issam El Rimawi

In partnership with UNESCO and Canal France International (CFI), the Media Development Center will host an event marking World Press Freedom Day on May 2nd, 2012. The theme of the event is ’Legal and Ethical Framework for Journalism in Palestine: Challenges in a New Media Environment’. The event is being held in commemoration of the UN General Assembly´s proclamation of May 3rd as World Press Freedom Day.

The day will be celebrated through a series of inspirational talks from reknown international and local speakers with Executive Director of Centre for Law and Democracy, Toby Mendel, as keynote speaker. Among the additional speakers are former Head of Programs at Al Jazeera, Aref Hijjawi, MAAN Agency’s Director Raed Othman, and Head of the Media Department at Birzeit University, Dr. Waleed Shurafa.

Other partners for the event include major Palestinian media houses such as WAFA, MAAN News, Palestine TV, the I’lam Media Center in Nazareth, the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate and the Media Department of Birzeit University.

Taking place at Birzeit University, the center welcomes Palestinian journalists and media professionals from both sides of the Green Line. In Gaza a similar event is scheduled to take place on May 10.

UNESCO and the MDC have previously partnered in events marking World Press Freedom Day. In 2006 the two organizations carried out a celebration and in 2009 UNESCO supported the MDC’s production of a public information campaign on press freedom and Palestinian media in a  series of radio spots.

The grand theme of World Press Freedom Day 2012 is 'New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies' and events to celebrate the occasion will take place throughout the world with Tunis as the center of this year's main host. 

May 3rd was in 1993 proclaimed as World Press Freedom Day following a Recommendation adopted by UNESCO's General Conference in 1991.

Read more about World Press Freedom Day 2012

Trainer Aref Hijjawi with trainees for MDC and HB Foundation's new project, 'Village Voices'.

Water or electricity scarcity, lack of access to doctors and hospitals, poor education opportunities and skyrocketing unemployment figures. These are some of the obstacles faced by Palestinians living in the rural areas of the West Bank as well as in villages close to settlements and checkpoints. But the voices of the villagers are rarely heard in the Palestinian media. In 2012 the Media Development Center will therefore - in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation and 13 radio stations -initiate a new project dubbed ’Village Voices’.

The MDC has held round-table discussions with directors of the 13 participating radio stations in the West Bank. And last week journalists from the stations started their first courses which were taught by former Head of Programs at Al Jazeera, Aref Hijjawi.

The focus of the project is to raise the voices of people in Palestinian villages through radio features centered on the issues and challenges they face in their everyday lives.

The project is a continuum of 16 year-long partnership between the Media Development Center and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Additionally, the MDC has consulted and set up partnerships with radio stations from all over the West Bank to ensure that voices from all areas will be heard.

In 2011 the Heinrich Böll Foundation supported a large scale initiative on environmental journalism in Palestine. The project, which trained journalists in telling stories of environment issues through docudrama, led to the production of 12 radio programs on different environmental issues.

Read more about MDC and HB Foundation's project on environmental docudrama for radio

The MDC Tuesday presented its main results from 2011 for partners and donors. Among the attendees were representatives from Sida, UNESCO, Heinrich Böll Foundation, the British Council, the British and French Consulate and Birzeit University.

Expressing her satisfaction with the projects of 2011, MDC Director, Nibal Thawebteh, emphasized that it naturally could not be possible without the help of partners as well as the MDC staff.

Vice President of Community Outreach at Birzeit University, Munir Qazzaz attended the event and took the opportunity to praise the MDC for its work.

”We need professional Palestinian journalists who can cover the case of Palestine by producing good and factual stories,” said Qazzaz and emphasized MDC’s succesful efforts in Gaza:

”The MDC has been succesful in unifying with Gaza making it clear that Palestine is not only the West Bank. That is just another reason why the MDC is important to Birzeit University.”

Agreing with this notion, representative of Sida, Peter Lundberg also pointed to MDC’s significant role in fighting for freedom of speech, and added that he was very pleased to see the MDC’s extraordinary efforts in ensuring funding from not only international but also local partners.

”It is important for Sida to see national ownership and that people in Palestine see how important the MDC is for free media," said Lundberg refering to the construction of new facilities for the Center sponsored by Palestinian business man, Mohammad Al-Masrogi.

In addition to presenting results from 2011, the MDC’s long-term ambitions of developing a MA-prgram for Palestinian journalists were introduced which met praise and interest among the attendees.

”I know, through our work together over the years, that you actually do what you say you want to do,” said Saad Halawani from the British Council.

Birzeit University's Media Development Center (MDC) is in the process of qualifying individual consultants/organizations with past experience in planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
Please click the link below to find the application.
Request For Proposal Application