In November 2018, thirty-two new participants were recruited to the Refugee Journalism Project.
They have origins in a range of countries including: Syria, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Kurdistan, Russia, Turkey, Eritrea, Yemen, Uganda, Pakistan and Sudan.
They bring a richness of life experience, professional skills and knowledge to the project.
Over the past few weeks, they have been involved in workshops at London College of Communication and the University of Derby covering UK Media Law, News Writing, Employability and Personal Development.
One of the sessions at LCC explored the theme What makes a good journalist? The group agreed a list of core characteristics.
- Reporting the truth
- Observation skills
- Presenting different opinions
- Having a critical view
- Fairness
- Understanding of audience
- Research
- Right to Reply
- Balanced storytelling
- Knowledge about subject
- Ability to be curious
- Empathy
- Knowing who you are how your bias impacts your journalism
They have also attended workshops organised by The Guardian Foundation. The first was with Claire Armistead, associate editor, culture whose session, What makes good writing? covered the role of journalism in society.
In December, the participants were invited to a discussion and tour at The Sun, part of News UK led by managing editor, Paul Clarkson.
There has also been good news for the project team, as RJP was selected for MadeAtUni which is a new campaign that champions the impact of universities up and down the country on people, lives and communities. The project has also featured in the press, iNews, Press Gazette and journalism.co.uk.
Images by Veronica Otero, Nour Hassaine and Yomna Mokhtar