Jaridaty in Tunisia wins Media and Information Education Award!
We are very proud to announce that the Jaridaty project in Tunisia won the prize for the best initiative on Media and Information Education. The prize was awarded at the 14th International Journalism Conference held on 29 September 2021 in Tours, France.
Jaridaty is a project of Al Khatt, in collaboration with Free Press Unlimited and funded by the Dutch embassy in Tunisia. Young people are barely visible in traditional Tunisian media. This means they have little say in their future. The project aims to create a network of young citizen journalists in Tunisia who report on topics relevant to them. By doing so they give voice to their generation, and steer their future in a positive way.
Boris van Westering, Free Press Unlimited’s Programme Coordinator for Middle East, North Africa, is very happy with the recognition for the project and the youth that are part of it: "This International journalistic recognition for Jaridaty is a huge boost for the young people who participated. It shows that the voice of young people matters and that they can be important to their community through the media. Hopefully this award will be a motivation for these young people to continue and demand a permanent place in the media landscape in Tunisia. Dare to dream!"
Ownership and representation
Jariday was chosen as the winner out of four candidates. The emphasis placed on the representation of all the regions of Tunisia by Jaridaty was something that excited the jury. The jury was also impressed by the high involvement of the young participants. They have ownership over the whole production process, and their productions also led to actual publications in the professional media, like the national TV Channel Wataniya 2. Monia Dhouib, Director of Wataniya 2, has great experiences working with Jaridaty, and was therefore very happy with the win for the team: "As the director of a public media channel, I had the pleasure and honor of collaborating with them. It was a wonderful time and one that reassures us about the future of this country. I wish for them to persevere in this way and hope that the other media follow our example and open their doors to them, because we have a duty to promote the voice of young people in the media."
The young people participating in the protect were ecstatic when they heard Jaridaty won the award. Safa Jobrane (17), Jaridaty participant from Gabes, told us: “We worked on the productions full of love and energy. In Tunisia you can’t find another project that works on citizen journalism specifically with young people. To me this prize is important because it helps us increase our audiences and our network. That way we can be heard even more than before.”
Hamdi Belhaj (20), Jaridaty participant and communications intern at Jaridaty from Maktar, says: "I’m so happy with this news that I was jumping when I heard it. This news made my day. Words can't be enough to describe my feelings, especially the fact that I was a part of this great team. This price will also give new energy and spirit to the whole team of Jaridaty."
Header photo: Raouaa Selmi receives the prize on behalf of Jaridaty. She is the Coordinator of the Jaridaty project and the Shabab Live project within the Al Khatt association. In this role she supports a more active participation of young Tunisians in society.
Read more about the project here.