With participation of 70 male and female students from the Media Faculty at Aleppo University in the liberated areas and journalists in west northern Syria, Ethical Charter for Syrian Media “ECSM” held an introductory session on the “ECSM” and the Complaints Mechanism, in cooperation with Hibr Press, yesterday, Monday 06-11-2023, via “ZOOM” platform.
After welcoming the participants, Melhem Al Abdullah, Executive Manager of “ECSM”, began introducing the “ECSM” by reviewing the media institutions that signed the Charter, in addition to the stages of development of ECSM’s work since its establishment, explaining that work is still continuing to develop the Charter until the present moment, reviewing ECSM’s objectives and the most important activities it carries out, whether outside or inside Syria.
Journalist Ahmed Elabsi, Chairman of “ECSM”, spoke about the standards of the Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct of the Charter, with regard to accuracy, correctness and clarity, integrity, respecting privacy, respecting intellectual rights, protection of resources, voiding defamation, slander and humiliation, non-discrimination, respecting the dignity of the victims, avoiding encouraging violence or incitement of crime or breaching the law, and avoiding stereotyping, voiding fabrication and charging. He also spoke at length about the standard of responsibility towards children, because of its importance, especially in the work of journalists inside Syria, and he touched on avoiding harm and offending. Emphasizing the importance of the standard of freedom of expression.
Elabsi then answered the question of some participants about whether the “ECSM” has the right to intervene if a media person is prevented from filming by those present at one of the filming sites, by saying: “The media person can film anywhere after obtaining permission from the person concerned”, focusing on avoiding photographing children only after obtaining the consent of their parents.
From his part, journalist Ghassan Al-Jumaa, editor-in-chief of Hibr Press, spoke about the Complaints Mechanism and the powers of the Complaints Committee in “ECSM”, and presented the stages of handling complaints. He also explained how to submit a complaint through the complaint submission link on “ECSM” website.
Before opening the floor for discussions, Ahmed Elabsi presented the upcoming activities of “ECSM” inside Syria, which include trainings on the standards of the Code of Conduct and monitoring and analyzing professional and ethical violations, in addition to a competition for trainee students that includes the production of media materials about the complaints mechanism.
After that, the participants began asking questions, most of which focused on the powers of “ECSM” and the Complaints Committee, and how to restore rights if the person who committed the violation was a journalist who does not belong to a media institution, or if an institution that was not a signatory to the Charter was the one who committed the violation. Elabsi and Al Abdullah answered the participants’ questions, amid the interaction of the participants and their desire to participate in the upcoming activities of “ECSM” inside Syria.
One of the female participants from students of the Media Faculty said that “the information I received during the introductory session was important, and it added a lot to me, especially since it introduced me to my rights and duties as I will become a journalist in the future”. She added that she wishes that the “ECSM” would hold such sessions and meetings periodically, because of their importance, and allow students to know everything new that occurs in “ECSM” or the media in general, calling on the “ECSM” to provide the foundations and principles of media work through trainings and forums through which they can practice their work. correctly.
As for Abdullah Al-Haj Omar, student at the Media and Communication Faculty at Aleppo University in the liberated areas, he said that “ECSM” is very important at this stage in light of the absence of competent authorities working to regulate the work of media outlets and organize the work of Syrian journalists in and outside Syria in general and in the “liberated areas” of northwest Syria in particular. He added that he hopes the “ECSM” to develop cooperation with journalists, by holding periodic introductory sessions or seminars on the complaints mechanism, which includes introducing the journalist’s rights and duties and defining his role in the society. He also noted that “at this stage, many people have emerged aspirants to the journalism profession, and this has led to many problems in the Syrian society, and randomness leads to failure. So, it is necessary to have an entity that imposes professional oversight on journalists inside Syria”.
Muhannad Al-Sheikh, second year student at Faculty of Media and Communication at Aleppo University in the liberated areas, reporter at Radio Rozana in Idlib, confirmed that the information presented in the session was very important for the media colleagues who attended the introductory session about “ECSM” in preparation for their involvement in the media community, and they practice the profession while they are familiar with many of the professional basics and controls contained within the charter, and it also prevents them from making mistakes and avoiding the obstacles they face during their media career. He pointed out the necessity of working to hold similar sessions periodically, gathering journalists, listening to them, and constantly reminding them of the Charter and the need to adhere to the principles and standards of the code of professional and ethical conduct.