AMMAN (JT) – The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has signed a $3 million grant agreement with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) to help consolidate the mission of the network to promote in-depth reporting in nine Arab countries.
SIDA thus becomes ARIJ’s main donor in a basket fund covering the 2011-2014 cycle, followed by the Copenhagen-based International Media Support and Open Society Foundations, according to an ARIJ statement released on Wednesday.
The funds will consolidate the mission of ARIJ in spreading the culture of investigative journalism in newsrooms and among independent journalists in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia, the statement said.
The network will organise 28 workshops for journalists focusing on basic investigative journalism tools in line with the ARIJ manual: “Story-Based Inquiry”, computer assisted reporting (CAR) tools, multimedia and specialised training on story-telling techniques.
ARIJ will also support the creation of investigative units at media institutions, encourage universities teaching media to use the manual in their undergraduate programmes, ensure access to paid data bases, and organise annual networking conferences for Arab investigative journalists, the statement said.
The fourth annual ARIJ conference will be held in Amman December 2-4, with the participation of over 300 Arab editors and journalists, many of whom have uncovered stories of interest to the public and promoted the principles of accountability, transparency and human rights.
In a ceremony on Tuesday to announce the agreement, SIDA’s largest contribution to a media project in the region so far, Swedish Ambassador to Jordan Charlotta Sparre described the deal as “a considerable step forward in Sweden’s support to media initiatives in the Middle East-North Africa region” that is “particularly relevant at this period of political change and democratisation”.
“Existing media in the region often tend to be characterised by a lack of critical and investigative journalism, and ARIJ’s work plays an important role for a rights-based approach in its investigative journalism work,” she added.
ARIJ Executive Director Rana Sabbagh said investigative journalism is the future for media in the region, the way to diversify the media product, increase circulation and enable media to play the role of the fourth estate in support of democracy and good governance.
“We thank our donors for investing in the future, and in a new generation of brave Arab journalists determined to document the truth as they unveil stories of interest to their local communities and hold the culprits accountable,” she said.
Established in 2005, ARIJ has published over 150 investigations tackling social, economic, environmental, educational and health issues, and many have prompted change in policies, the statement said.
After the onset of the Arab Spring, Egyptian journalists trained by the network have started following the corruption of former senior officials, using sophisticated tools and operating with international anti-crime and corruption centres, according to ARIJ.
