A year since the outbreak of war in Gaza and its extension to Lebanon and other countries in one way or another. A year in which “Qarib” partners distinguished themselves by covering what is happening with its humanitarian and news aspects and its impact on people’s lives.
Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding the work of our partners in the region, and thus the program, “Qarib” completed its plans related to other aspects of support, including its support for the participation of journalists in the climate summit scheduled for November in Baku, Azerbaijan.
🌍 The Climate Summit and 13 Participants Supported by “Qarib” 🌱
Thirteen journalists are preparing to head to the climate summit to cover the summit, each according to their interests and the issues their country is suffering from.
Suzanne Baaklini, who is responsible for this program, wrote about the developments of the project:
“When I took over in June the project organized by “Qarib” to train and guide Arab journalists to cover the climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan (November 11-22), I was very excited about the idea of transferring the experience of all those years of journalistic work in the field of climate.”
In August, we selected 13 talented journalists from four Arab countries: Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, of different ages and backgrounds. This is a unique opportunity because it allows them to specialize in a topic that is becoming increasingly important every day, and allows their platforms to excel in covering stories that are no less important than the crucial issues that these platforms care about.
In September, despite the intensification of the war in Lebanon and the involvement of other countries in it, training sessions and individual mentoring for the participants within the program began. Three of these training sessions were provided by specialists who were chosen not only for their extensive experience, but also for their knowledge of the field and their regular participation in UN climate summits. Greenpeace expert Shadi Khalil and activist Mohamed Kamal, both from Egypt, introduced the participants to climate finance, the main topic of COP29 this year.
Lea Kahi and Lea Zgheib, from the Lebanese negotiating delegation, spoke about the entire negotiation process behind closed doors. Safaa Al-Jayousi, a veteran Jordanian expert from Oxfam, spoke about the principles of climate justice that are dear to our countries. I will also be presenting a fourth session before we leave for the summit, to guide journalists to cover the summit effectively.
Iraq: Elections, trainings and a roundtable 🗳️
In Iraq, the QARIB team completed a series of trainings at several levels and in various fields for all 17 QARIB partners. The image is from a recent training in the Kurdistan Region on radio investigations.
QARIB partners, particularly in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, followed the Kurdistan Parliament elections that took place in the region in October.
✍️ Our colleague Qasim Khadir, the Qarib Program Officer in Iraq, wrote about these elections:
“Following the recent parliamentary elections in Kurdistan, the Kurdish media covered the most prominent issues that dominated these elections, starting with the disparity in turnout between the sexes, in addition to the financial challenges, and reaching the decisive role of the city of Erbil in determining the results. Among the main topics that received attention were the small number of winning female candidates, and primarily the small number of female candidates. The financing of election campaigns, especially the electoral money of the parties, also captured the attention. As for young voters who participated for the first time, they were divided between those who were enthusiastic about participating and those who felt disappointed, which was reflected in the turnout, as there was a youth boycott compared to the participation of other young people, knowing that the overall participation rate was 72 percent.”
A roundtable in Halabja on women with the support of Qarib
On October 9, 2024, before the elections that took place on the 20th, Radio “Dengi Noy” in cooperation with the “Qarib” program and “CFI” organized a roundtable in Halabja. It brought together female candidates, journalists, activists, and community leaders to discuss each candidate’s vision for developing women’s rights in addition to other community issues.
Qarib’s partners and covering war and other issues
Our partners within the “Qarib” program produced more than a hundred journalistic materials in different styles and with a variety of materials. You can find them on their websites.
🔎 Our selections for this month:
Noqta platform – Women’s Lab: addressed the topic of the impact of the ongoing war in Lebanon and its repercussions on women.
Daraj platform: A report on the neglect of Syrian refugees in the context of the current displacement crisis.
PNN: The initiative of a young man from the Palestinian city of Hebron to revive heritage in a unique way: Follow the article to find out how?
This young man chose the name “Zaatar” as the title of his initiative to emphasize the return to the roots in his work, considering that Palestinian thyme grows in every corner of the land of Palestine and is one of the best in the region.
Aramram website – Jordan: A video about the reality of tourism and its impact on current developments in the region.
In Iraq, Khatwa Network addressed the topic of coexistence between peoples in times of crises through the marriage of two young men from Lebanon who were unable to separate the Israeli war on Lebanon and the story of the forced displacement of the two fiancés to Iraq
