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Journalism

Bicommunal Radio Program

Community Development

Young Cypriot journalists that came from both sides of the island pose for a photo in Washington, DC

Journalism

• Young Journalists Project
• Reconciliation Now Project
• New Media Landscape Now

The media tremendously influences Greek and Turkish Cypriots’ perceptions of the prospect for peaceful coexistence. Consequently, journalism plays a substantial role in determining the direction of inter-communal relations in Cyprus and ultimately resolution of the conflict.

HasNa’s programs in journalism are designed to develop objective journalistic perspectives. Activities emphasize ethics in print and broadcast media as well as how to deliver unbiased analysis and reporting. HasNa’s media training programs ultimately expand the opportunities Greek and Turkish Cypriots have to cooperate with each other.

Young Journalists Project

In 2002, HasNa collaborated with peace activists in Cyprus to conduct the Young Journalists Project. This project gave ten young journalists from Cyprus the opportunity to come to the Washington, DC for training that focused on ethics in reporting, objectivity in analyzing statistical information and discussions on moving away from biased reporting methods. Cypriots from both sides of the island were able to interact with each other during the program and develop a more objective journalistic stance on the issue of bi-communality.

The job shadowing program was arranged with NPR to provide participants with the chance to observe journalism techniques in the field. The participants learned cutting edge news analysis so that they were better able to inform and educate the Cypriot public on issues which affect both the Greek and Turkish-Cypriot communities.

The aim of the program is to reach the next generation of journalists on the island and provide them with the tools to broaden the perspective of their respective communities, with the ultimate goal of bringing integration to the island of Cyprus.

Reconciliation Now Project

In September 2003, HasNa unveiled its plans to work with two leading Cypriot peace organizations, the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute (CNTI) and The Management Center to support reconciliation programs. Three workshops have been held in Cyprus bringing together more than 250 Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot business people to build economic cooperation, especially where it might redress economic disparities between North and South Cyprus.

In addition, a series of Media Literacy workshops was launched. These workshops equipped participants with a better understanding of how biases and prejudices shape people’s perceptions as well as the skills needed to critically analyze print, broadcast, and online media. Recognizing the biases that exists in media reporting is an important first step to changing them.

New Media Landscape Now

In 2007, HasNa partnered with the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute on an eight month long project called New Media Landscape Now. The aim of the project was to bring journalists from both sides of divided Cyprus together in order to produce a stronger vision of the ideal media landscape on the island and to develop a set of politically neutral terms which can be used when reporting news on the island.

The project culminated in a conference that brought 24 journalists – 12 from each side of the island – together to brainstorm and finalize a vision of the future media landscape in Cyprus. From this, the journalists developed an action plan with steps towards a feasible transformation of the existing media landscape.

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