Digital course in Peace Journalism
In co-operation with partner Nai supporting open media in Afghanistan, JMIC at OsloMet started a course in peace journalism for Afghan journalists/editors. We also cooperate with the Faculty of Journalism and Commuication at Kabul University.
Among the more than twenty participants there are editors and leaders as well as experienced journalists. Reporters from four regions outside of Kabul have also joined the course, which will have monthly sessions of 2-5 days until May 2021.
On 24 August, Professor Elisabeth Eide gave an introduction to the main themes of the course, and urged for active, dialogic participation from everyone. Professor and colleague Rune Ottosen gave an introduction lecture on peace journalism, followed by questions from the audience. His presentation of the Galtung model for peace journalism still has relevance, but has to be discussed critically, not least on how to adapt it to a country in which there has been a war situation for 40 years.
On the second day, 25 August, the main speaker was Ms. Najia Anwari, spokesperson from the Afghan Ministry of Peace. After the lecture, where she appreciated the principles of peace journalism and raised some critical points about contemporary journalism in Afghanistan, she stayed around for a long and interesting Q & A session, much about the peace process itself.
Elisabeth Eide then gave a lecture based on one of the principles of Peace Journalism, which is ‘self scrutiny’ (Jake Lynch 2005). She gave an account of her own experiences reporting on/from Afghanistan during several decades, followed by discussion.
The evaluations of this very first session were very positive.