2008 PRT Information
Iraqi Journalists Gain Skills from U.S. Workshop
(Civil Rights NGO partners with PRT in Dahuk)
By Jeff Hilsgen
Special Correspondent
January 24, 2008
Dahuk City – Iraqi citizens will soon get a clearer view of the successes and challenges facing their nation thanks to an innovative training partnership between a leading Iraqi non-governmental organization (NGO) and a U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) aimed at upgrading the reporting skills of radio, TV and print journalists.
Recently, the Kurdistan Civil Rights Organization (KCRO) concluded a five-day training workshop for 25 journalists in Dahuk funded by the U.S. Government and organized by the PRT operating in the Province.
The workshop was the second in a series of three that brought together a total of 75 journalists from local press organizations to discuss the role of the media in supporting democracy and to receive theoretical and practical training.
The three workshops – each lasting 5 days – helped train print journalists, editors, producers and on-air personalities in the province’s three primary media sectors – Newspapers, TV, and radio.
Topics the workshop covered included:
• The role of free media in a democratic state
• Responsibility for educating the population about their government
• Defending freedom of speech
• Investigative journalism
• Reporting on the positive role of women in society
The final phase of the PRT media training program will be completed by the end of February 2008 and will enable production of four TV and four radio programs that will educate the public about the role of a free media in a democratic state. The live programs will include the opportunity for the public to pose questions to the programs’ moderators and panel members.
Started in Iraq in 2005, the State Department-led PRTs are an important tool in helping Iraq achieve economic and political stabilization by bolstering moderates, promoting reconciliation, fostering economic development and building provincial capacity.
As of January 2008 there were 24 PRTs located throughout Iraq -- 13 embedded with military units -- staffed by approximately 800 people.
After a January 8 digital video conference with three PRT leaders, President Bush told journalists, “Across the country, these teams are helping to bring Iraqis together so that reconciliation can happen from the gound up."
Another project organized and funded by the PRT operating in Dahuk is entitled “Enhancing the Leadership Aspirations of Kurdish Women.” The project will fund 10, one hour TV call-in programs. The programs will educate citizens about the need for greater participation and leadership of women in Dahuk’s political and economic realms.
The U.S.-Iraqi partnership will also enable KCRO to design, produce and distribute 2,000 brochures that highlight the careers and backgrounds of leading Kurdish women. The brochures will also include general information about the attributes of effective leaders and will be designed to inspire other Kurdish women to pursue education and empowerment.
KCRO is a non-profit, politically unaffiliated NGO established in March 2003. Headquartered in Dahuk City, the organization seeks to enhance knowledge and observance of basic human rights, including the rights of women and children. The group has completed a number of projects advancing the cause of ethnic and religious pluralism.
KCRO also established “The Dahuk Rehabilitation Center for Torture Survivors” (DRCTS) in August 2005, in order to provide medical, social and legal services to torture survivors from the time of Saddam Hussein’s rule.