JMI concludes a workshop on covering municipal elections in the governorates

<strong>JMI concludes a workshop on covering municipal elections in the governorates</strong><br /> In cooperation with The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) and UNESCO Amman<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Amman, 24 June 2013<br /> <br /> JMI Concluded on Sunday a workshop on covering municipal elections in the governorates of Ma&rsquo;an, Aqaba, Mafraq, and finally Madaba. The workshops trained Jordanian youth on basic media and journalistic skills aiming to give them the required tools to cover their own local stories, issues and concerns, particularly those issues concerned with municipal elections and political participation.<br /> <br /> The workshop aims to encourage youth to participate and get involved in the issues relating to their local community and to give them a sense of responsibility towards their societies, especially in terms of decision making and awareness of the importance of transparency and integrity in the elections process. The training equipped the participants with the necessary tools to report, produce news, and distribute it through different media platforms.<br /> <br /> The workshops are part of a one year project done in cooperation between JMI and the UNESCO office in Amman, involving various local partners.<br /> JMI&rsquo;s partnership with JOHUD; one of the first institutions established in Jordan to serve the local communities, was crucial to the success of the workshops, especially in terms of selecting eligible participants, who varied in age and gender, representing all areas of the governorates.<br /> <br /> Among the skills that the participants learned during the workshops was the debating skills necessary to use when questioning and discussing with election candidates, to push them to present clear agenda&rsquo;s and action plans according to the governorate&rsquo;s priorities.<br /> <br /> The participants also started their own webpages on Facebook, as a platform to publish stories relating to the local issues in each of the governorates, and attract the largest number of readers and observers to discuss these issues in an interactive manner, and exchange ideas about the practical steps that can be taken to promote political participation and contribute to the decision-making process.<br /> <br /> Participants showed their willingness to work on loosening a set of tribal values ​​during the electoral processes, like voting on the basis of merit instead of tribal belonging, in addition to promoting awareness of the importance of democratic participation in decision-making. They were also keen on urging the local community to vote for the candidates who have clear electoral programs and specific timetables for implementation.<br /> <br /> The project aims to train citizen journalists on independent and impartial coverage of the elections and the development of a participatory strategy to support the media in Jordan to enable it to play its professional role in the electoral process.<br /> &nbsp;