Providing support to the Jordanian media

In recent years, the conflicts on the doorstep of Jordan have significantly weakened the economy of the country. Confronted with a reduction in advertising resources and greater competition from online media, many media organisations, particularly in the print media sector, are encountering difficulties. Several newspapers have had to cease their activities. Faced with these issues, the Jordanian media needs qualified, well trained journalists and professionals who are willing to improve their skills.

In this context, the UNESCO Office in Amman chose to entrust CFI and its partner ESJ Pro Montpellier with the implementation of a component of the programme "Providing support to the media in Jordan (2014-2017)", financed by the European Union.
This project is divided into two parts:
the first aims to adapt the journalism courses of two large Jordanian universities to developments in the journalism profession and to the new requirements of the media;
the aim of the second is to strengthen the skills of active journalists by means of professional training sessions at international standards.

Among the seven higher education establishments that train journalists in Jordan, the UNESCO Office in Amman selected two universities, one public and one private, that are enthusiastic about this project: Yarmouk University in Irbid and Middle East University in Amman.

As regards the professional training, the JMI (Jordan Media Institute) of Amman was selected as the local partner to analyse the requirements within the media – in Amman and three other Jordanian cities (Irbid, Ma'an and Akaba) – in order to conceive a practical training programme for 200 Jordanian journalists from the written press, the radio, the television and the internet.