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Suren Deheryan, President of the Caucasus Journalists Team for Sustainable Future, talks about the role of media in covering justice and law enforcement at a workshop for journalists. |
Journalism trainer brings together a group of media workers for sustainable future
“One of the immediate outcomes of the training was the creation of a team of like-minded professionals,” says Deheryan.
In August 2007, Mr. Deheryan and a group of five journalism faculty members traveled to France for a week-long training at the Paris-based journalism school and training center, CFPJ-International. Being exposed to the experience of their European counterparts, the participants acquired hands-on teaching techniques essential for stimulating critical thinking and independent learning among students. The participants observed teaching at CRPJ-International, and used their observations to revamp the existing curricula in their home universities.
In October 2007, Mr. Deheryan established the Caucasus Journalists Team for Sustainable Future with an aim to effect a positive change in the quality of media in the Caucasus. “One of the immediate outcomes of the training was the development of a team of like-minded professionals,” says Mr. Deheryan. “Our ultimate goal is to create an enabling environment for media workers in the Caucasus to forge linkages and, most importantly, to improve livelihoods through provision of fair and balanced information.”
The organization currently has twenty members from Armenia and six from Georgia. Mr. Deheryan attaches great importance to the partnership with Georgian counterparts “as it provides us with an opportunity to address common issues and facilitate exchange of experience.”
While in the course of the past two years the organization has relied on the enthusiasm of its members, it is now becoming more active. The organization has three ongoing projects funded by various organizations. It recently conducted a series of seminars on the role of media in covering justice and law enforcement, and launched a competition for young journalists from the Caucasus.
Being familiar with AED, Mr. Deheryan is also collaborating with the Youth and Community Action Program (YCAP), another USAID-funded project implemented by AED in Armenia. In September 2008, as part of the YCAP annual conference, he conducted a seminar for about 80 representatives from youth clubs and community action committees on how to publish newsletters. Also, with his teaching experience and knowledge of the CSJMM, Mr. Deheryan helps Armenian students admitted to the CSJMM for a master’s program to prepare for their graduate study.
“The organization is in the early stages of development, and there is still a lot of work to build its capacity,” says Mr. Deheryan. “However, with membership’s dedication to our mission and supporters’ faith in our work, I am convinced that our team will successfully rise up to the challenge of creating a better future with the power of media.”
Publication Date: 2009-09-16
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