Amman- 6 July 2021
The 6th session of the “Together Against Discrimination” virtual diploma addressed the importance of effective complaint mechanisms in the working places especially for media institutions.
The “Together Against Discrimination” training program extends over a period of 3 months, within the framework of the “I Will Not Stay Silent” project launched by ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism) in partnership with the Facebook Journalism Project, Women in News / WAN-IFRA, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), and SAFE, IREX, and supported by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. The project aims at creating a safe, pluralistic, and diverse media working environment that is free of discrimination.
The session, held on 6 July 2021, was delivered by ARIJ’s human resources consultant, Hassan Jadallah and moderated by “I will not stay silent” project manager, Mira Yassin.
Jadallah started the session by highlighting the importance of having an effective complaining mechanism within institutions as they provide opportunities to improve services within the institution, as well as strengthening its relations with stakeholders.
Jadallah pointed out that effective complaining mechanisms must preserve the right to complain as well as the right to respond. He also explained that these mechanisms should ensure safety and protection for the complainant and all the concerned parties in the workplace. He also explained that effectiveness must entail maintaining confidentiality, privacy and transparency.
Jadallah discussed the necessary steps to develop an internal effective complaining mechanism including: the designing of reporting methods, complaints registration, and raising the employees’ awareness about the complaining mechanism, and the documentation of the complaint’s reactions, complaints and responses and every detail of the complaint.
Jadallah stressed using those complaints as a source of learning for the organization in order to be able to improve the work environment and avoid future recurrence of problems and conflicts.
The “Together Against Discrimination” diploma is the first program of its kind in the region that focuses on equipping participants with theoretical and practical hands-on knowledge, designing and implementing effective internal complaints mechanisms against misuse of power in media institutions and working environments. These include fraud, corruption, harassment and hate speech, enabling designated parties to best receive, respond, investigate and report any complaints.
