REHAM AL-FARRA MEMORIAL JOURNALISTS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME CONCLUDES

REHAM AL-FARRA MEMORIAL JOURNALISTS’ FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME CONCLUDES

25th Year of Promoting Understanding of United Nations Challenges

The 2005 training programme for junior media professionals from developing and transition countries concluded at United Nations Headquarters today.   The purpose of the programme is to help young professionals better understand the challenges faced by the United Nations and to assist them in reporting on global issues after they return to their home countries.

The six-week programme included visits to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and to leading media and academic institutions in Atlanta, New York and New Jersey.  At the United Nations, senior officials from the Secretariat, the United Nations system and Member States briefed the journalists on a wide range of subjects.

This year’s  graduates were:  Mohamed Abdul Aziz Al–Ansari, Foreign Information Agency of the State of Qatar; Shermain Bique, Chronical Newspaper, Dominica; Eun Jung Cho, Arirang TV, Republic of Korea; Hannah Foullah, Radio Democracy, Sierra Leone; Margarita Funes, La Prensa Grafica, El Salvador; Tomas Jenik, Lidove Noviny, Czech Republic; Cheryl Lim, Mediacorp News, Singapore; Carlos Maurille, Radio CAPP FM, Benin; Maia Metaxa, BBC World Service, Republic of Moldova; Tania Sabillon, El Heraldo Newspaper, Honduras; and Pippin Vuvui Fotu, Radio Tonga and Television, Tonga.

At the ceremony where he awarded certificates to the 11 graduates, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor said:  “This year, we have introduced a number of innovations to the programme to better reflect the UN’s priorities, including our engagement with the non-governmental and educational sectors.”  The annual programme is organized by the Department of Public Information’s Outreach Division.

The Journalists’ Fellowship Programme –- established 25 years ago -- is now named for Reham Al-Farra, a 29-year-old UN staff member who was killed in the 19 August 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.  Before joining the UN, Ms. Al-Farra became the first female daily political columnist in her native Jordan, for Al Arab Al Yawm newspaper.

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For information media • not an official record