Iraqi Makanati winners meet the CFI teams
Related project
MakanatiBetween 2020 and 2022, more than 200 female journalists in Iraq and Yemen received training via the Makanati project to produce content that promotes gender equality. Around 10 of these journalists met the CFI teams at a training course held in France in May 2023, one year after the project ended.
"The project has given me hope and determination."
"The ideas taught have helped me to overcome stereotypes."
"I've learnt to express myself freely and develop multiple skills."
This is how all the young people who received Makanati support described their experiences on Wednesday, 10 May 2023.
For two years, this project has helped ensure that more women have a say and that there is a better understanding of their concerns in Iraq and Yemen, two countries where women are regularly victims of flagrant human rights violations and exposed to sexual and gender-based violence.
300 pieces of content focusing on women and gender equality
The journalists receiving support were given multi-topic training that covered gender equality concepts, leadership, writing techniques, podcast production, and online platform creation and management. Around 300 pieces of content focusing on women and gender equality in Iraq and Yemen have also been produced.
When the project ended, some of the journalists sought to enhance their professional skills via the "Women's Voices Without Borders (Voix de femmes sans frontières - VFSF)" project launched by Makanati's partner, Humanitarian Aid and Journalism (Aide Humanitaire et Journalisme (AHJ), with the support of the Crisis and Support Centre of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (CDCS). It is in this context that they recently received training in France in collaboration with Monte Carlo Doualiya (MCD), RFI and France 24.
On this trip, the young, determined female journalists were eager to meet the CFI teams and talk about their Makanati project experiences. They still currently volunteer their services to manage the makanati.net platform. Some of them have also been recruited by leading media outlets in Iraq.
This visit was also an opportunity for these winners to record a podcast in Arabic with CFI Chairman and Managing Director, Thierry Vallat. He reiterated CFI's commitment to supporting women in the Arab world, a commitment that the agency has been making firmly since 2019 as part of its "gender strategy". This commitment is embodied by a number of projects designed to encourage women to get involved in society.
CFI will be continuing its initiatives in Yemen with a new project, "Yamaniyat", to promote the role of women in peace-building efforts.
