Ethical Charter for Syrian Media “ECSM” and Syrian Journalist Association “SJA” concluded a two-day roundtable meeting on the topic of “the role of media organizations in establishing principles of Ethical Journalism and promoting constructive dialogue in Syrian Society”. The meeting took place in Gaziantep, Turkey, and wrapped up on Thursday, August 31, 2023.
The first day’s proceedings commenced with providing detailed explanations regarding the events unfolding in the southern Syrian provinces of Daraa and Suwayda. This included a discussion on the contributions expected from media institutions and civil society organizations within the region and beyond. Various means of networking and facilitating communication between the concerned parties, whether internally or externally, were also highlighted.
During the second session, attendees were divided into three groups under the guidance of Zedoun Alzoubi /the first day facilitator, who directed each group to formulate a project proposal that ensures collaboration between civil society organizations and media institutions. These proposals were designed to be actionable and persuasive to potential donors.
In the third session, participants presented their proposals, along with potential donors for the proposed projects or alternative initiatives. A list of international donors and their areas of expertise or focus was compiled to streamline the process of seeking funding for these proposals.
The second day’s activities began with the completion of what the participants started during the first day. Mona Abdelmaksoud /the second day facilitator, presented a pre-prepared study on grant analysis and the quality of project proposals that donors and funders in the field of independent media might be inclined to support.
Abdelmaksoud emphasized that successful models identified in the study were those emphasizing institutional development, along with insight into major donor countries and their areas of interest. Training and institutional development ranked highest in terms of favored aspects, followed by procedures, policies, production grants, and research.
The second session witnessed the division of the attendees into working groups that came up with three project proposals that could be presented to the donors, based on the information they received during the two-days meeting.
The three proposals produced by the participants were presented, as the first group presented a proposal on the detainees and the disappeared and their families, their statistics, and documentation, in addition to thinking about adopting their families and providing them with support through livelihood training.
In the third session, the participants completed the presentation of their proposals, as the second group presented a proposal on investigative reports and training media professionals to prepare them. While the third group’s proposal was about women’s inheritance in northwestern Syria, and empowering women to claim their right to inheritance.
The second and third sessions witnessed active participation from attendees. Participants shared their opinions and feedback, contributing to the refinement of the three projects proposed during the meeting. The meeting’s conclusions were summarized by the facilitator, highlighting participants’ insights and recommendations for optimizing the effectiveness of such meetings.
It’s worth noting that the roundtable meeting was attended by 20 decision-makers and influencers from various media organizations, institutions, and Syrian civil society organizations. Attendees participated either in person or through the “ZOOM” platform.
