Young Journalists Project
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HasNa Inc. headed by Mrs. Nevzer Stacy has funded an exchange program for young journalists between 1 June, 2002 and the 31 May, 2003. Five Turkish Cypriots and five Greek Cypriots had the opportunity to benefit from a short-term scholarship and spend a couple of weeks in Washington DC, hosted by American Families. Yiannis Laouris from the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute together with his peace friend from the Cyprus Conflict Resolution Trainers Group Huseyin Gursan of the Youth Centre coordinated the project. The highlight of the project was the organization of the HasNa Media Symposium May 2003.
Members of the Advisory Board
The project was monitored and supervised by an Advisory Committee which also served as ad-hoc selection committee. The following served as members of the Advisory Board:
- Yiannis Laouris, President of the Technology for Peace initiative
- Hayat Hüsseyin Yasamsal, President of Olive Branch
- Devrim Yasamsal, Secretary of Olive Branch
- Maria Hadjipavlou, President of Peace Centre Cyprus
- Harry Anastasiou, Professor of Peace Studies, Portland State University
- Romina Laouri, political science student
The Parties have agreed to collaborate and promote peace and reconciliation activities in Cyprus through the introduction and initiation of a series of specific collaborative projects for young Turkish and Greek Cypriots living in the Southern and Northern part of the island. This Memorandum covered project-related activities that would take place in the United States and Cyprus, including:
- Setting up a Communal Office to coordinate activities across the Green Line, promote the specific proposed projects by Cypriots in the South and North, and provide needed staff and logistical support to these professionals in developing, implementing and evaluating projects. One Greek Cypriot coordinator will staff the Office.
- Formation of a Bi-communal Advisory Board that will work together, with equal Turkish and Greek representation, to supervise projects and provide guidance
- Establishing a series of training programs in conflict resolution and professional skills for young adults, with equal representation from both Turkish and Greek communities, with the ultimate goal of instituting joint projects.
- Working together with the scholars for a period of 1 year supporting them in their bicommunal meetings.
- Organization of a journalists' peace conference.
George Tziapouras and Synthia Pavlou coordinated a number of activities.
Members of the young journalists
Greek Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots
- Ms. Aysu Basri
- Mr. Salih Iramklı
- Ms. Övgü İnce
- Ms. Özge Sever
- Mrs. Dilek Kodan
Background and justification of the project
In 1995, the Fulbright Commission, in collaboration with the Cyprus Bicommunal Trainers Group, organized and funded a U.S.-based training program for about twenty young journalists from both communities in Cyprus. In 1996, the U.S. Embassy funded a one-day trip to Brussels for prominent chief editors from various Cypriot media organizations, where they received up-to-date information regarding EU regulations, challenges and opportunities in the field of journalism. While both of these projects helped to form linkages and friendships between colleagues working across the Green Line, neither included any defined structures or follow-up activities to support continued interaction and collaboration among the journalists after their return to Cyprus.
In the summer of 2002, HasNa, in cooperation with two Cypriot NGOs - Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute and the Youth Centre, organized the training program for the young journalists (five Greek Cypriots and five Turkish Cypriots). HasNa provided equal funding to the two Cypriot NGOs to manage components of the Young Journalists Project, including participant selection, logistics management in Cyprus and post-training follow-up activities. Participants spent two weeks in Washington learning and practicing effective communication skills, conflict resolution and modern journalism. The group made a commitment to continue to meet regularly once they returned to Cyprus, to form an electronic discussion group to support one another and to organize small bicommunal activities. HasNa provided funding for two project coordinators, one in the North and one in the South, for a period of nine months (through May 2003) to support the follow-up activities. During this period, the members of the group:
- Wrote and published articles describing how their HasNa training experience had changed their perceptions;
- Created a “friendly”, bicommunal network of contacts and cooperation;
- Launched the first, on-line bicommunal journal (www.hasnajournal.org)
- Helped organize the first HasNa Media Symposium in May 2003, bringing together senior journalists from the Greek Cypriot media for a provocative discussion of ethics and objectivity in journalism, and the role of the media in reconciliation. A second Media Symposium is being planned for Turkish Cypriot journalists in fall 2003.
Thus, the HasNa Young Journalists Project was specifically designed to put a more defined post-training structure in place than had earlier projects targeting journalists. This follow-up phase was critical to sustaining the "transformation" of the participants and their regular interaction, evidenced by the regular bicommunal meetings, the publication of the HasNa journal, and a very active online discussion group.
HasNa proposes to work with Cypriot media organizations to design and deliver a two week journalism training program in Washington, D.C. for up to 10-12 Greek and Turkish Cypriot journalists in January or February 2005. HasNa seeks to create a group with balanced representation from both communities. The training program will target journalists and editors, and it will combine journalism training with training in intercultural communications, conflict resolution and mediation. The goals of the training program are to:
1. strengthen the role of the media in resolving the Cyprus problem through cutting-edge news analysis and reporting that seeks to inform and educates the Cypriot public 2. provide journalists with new knowledge and skills to enhance their job performance 3. provide journalists and their employers with post-training support to ensure that the skills that participants acquire are applied on-the-job, and that the bicommunal contacts that are made are sustained over time
HasNa will cooperate with two local NGOs, CNTI and the Management Centre, to manage all aspects of project support in Cyprus, including advertising and selection of participants, travel, visas and other arrangements, pre-training needs assessment and post-training follow up activities and support. HasNa will manage all aspects of the training program in the United States, including training program design, local transportation, lodging and social and cultural activities in the Washington area that will allow participants to learn about and experience American life during their stay in the U.S.
Program Costs
A successful training program will require shared responsibility between HasNa and the media organizations nominating and sponsoring participants. The estimated total tuition cost is $6,670 per participant. Sponsoring organizations are requested to provide $2,345 per participant to cover the cost of airfare, lodging and meals, visas and medical insurance. HasNa will pay the remaining $4,325 covering all tuition and all other program costs.
Who We Are
HasNa Inc. was established in 1998 in Washington, D.C. as a nonprofit charitable organization (NGO). Its mission is to foster cross-cultural understanding and economic empowerment in order to bridge differences and enable individuals and communities to work together towards peaceful co-existence. HasNa’s Young Journalists Training Program brought five Greek Cypriot and five Turkish Cypriot journalists to Washington in July 2002 for two weeks of technical training, visits with American media organizations and personalities, and conflict resolution training. The goal of HasNa’s current program in Cyprus, begun in October 2003, is to expand opportunities for Turkish and Greek Cypriots to cooperate in two strategic areas: media development and business cooperation. CNTI and The Management Centre have joined HasNa in managing this program, marking the first sustained partnership between a Greek Cypriot, a Turkish Cypriot and an American NGO.
Our Training Model
HasNa brings people together through programs that combine professional and vocational training with structured training in conflict resolution and mediation. HasNa’s training methods are based on research on workforce development and how adults learn best, combining group instruction with role plays and other experiential learning activities that allow participants to immediately apply their learning. HasNa will also arrange site visits to newsrooms and broadcast studios, job-shadowing and mentoring and training in relevant computer applications and the use of the Internet as a productivity and research tool.
HasNa begins by working with sponsoring organizations to assess training goals and needs specific to the participants, then designs a plan and identifies the best training providers to match those needs. HasNa works with expert trainers, American universities or vocational schools, and other reputable training institutes.
With a view towards advancing cross-cultural understanding, the structure of the journalism training will require participants to interact daily through activities designed to develop new perspectives among the participants regarding bicommunal relations. The technical training will include workshops and seminars on ethics in journalism, news, investigative and special topics reporting conducted by faculty at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. HasNa supplements these classroom experiences with field visits to local television and radio stations, meetings with journalists associations and small group discussions with famous reporters and commentators.
The journalism training is supplemented by three days of conflict resolution training conducted by the Center for Dispute Settlement of Washington, D.C. Subjects covered include conflict management, effective communications and mediation. Shared living and training experiences will also help participants to overcome biases and promote cross-cultural understanding.
The HasNa team looks forward to discussing this exciting program with you. Please address inquiries and nominations of participants to:
Patricia Scheid, Executive Director
