About us

International Institute for Journalism

The International Institute for Journalism (IIJ) of InWEnt Capacity Building International, Germany, was founded in 1962. It gives young, up-and-coming-journalists from developing and transitional countries the opportunity to enhance their knowledge in the media business. The IIJ offers advanced training and dialogue for print and news agency journalists as well as for multimedia and online journalists.

The aim of the IIJ programme is to strengthen the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press in partner countries of German development cooperation and to thus improve the conditions for democratisation and economic and social development. In this capacity, the IIJ represents a key pillar in the media development work of the Federal Government of Germany and in particular of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The IIJ currently offers up to 40 training courses and dialogue programmes per year which take place both in Germany and in the partner countries where the IIJ cooperates with regional journalistic training institutions. A high proportion of the IIJ alumni hold senior positions in the media industry throughout the world.

Contact:

Astrid Kohl
Head of the International Institute for Journalism (IIJ)
InWEnt – Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung gGmbH
Capacity Building International, Germany
Stresemannstr.92, 10963 Berlin, Germany
Fon: + 49(0)30/43996-297,
Fax: + 49(0)30/43996-260
astrid.kohl@inwent.org
www.inwent.org/iij
www.iij-blog.org

http://twitter.com/iij

This Website

This website is being produced by students of the Multimedia and Online Journalism course I, 2010, of the International Institute for Journalism (IIJ) of InWEnt. The 15 students are all journalists with a minimum of four years of professional experience. They come from partner countries of the German development cooperation. They all have a strong interest in new media and work for online editions or are to take up such work in the near future.

Course Objective

The transition from print to online journalism is in full progress: Media houses are transforming their news operations and reviewing all aspects from business models to storytelling formats. The merging of online-print newsrooms, the new methods of online reporting and podcasting as well as the new possibilities of mobile reporting challenge journalists‘ professional skills and editorial management. The Internet and online journalism have the potential to increase transparency and political participation of the civil society, and thus to foster economic and social development worldwide.

The training programme of the IIJ aims at strengthening the professional and ethical standards of multimedia journalists. It seeks to assist publishing and media houses in the partner countries of the German development cooperation, which have started or are about to start online editions of their newspapers. Thus, the course also means to counteract the global digital divide. It is an answer to the increasing demand for well-trained online journalists who understand the technical features and the journalistic opportunities of this digital medium.

In particular, the course aims at enhancing the professional skills in writing for the web, online design and online research, in applying multimedia elements, studying the technological background of the Internet and multimedia news reporting as well as the politial framework that rules the Internet.  In addition, the course familiarises with the basics of how to organise a converged newsroom and how to assess the costs and benefits for an online edition.

Course Contents

  • Analysing media websites: design, usability, interactivity
  • Basics of Internet technology
  • Writing for the web
  • Photo editing with Photoshop
  • Podcasting: producing audio files
  • Capturing and editing videos
  • Strategies for efficient online research
  • Calculating the costs of setting up and running an online publication
  • Discussing the politics of the Internet and its potential for social and economic development
  • Raising awareness of Internet security and e-rights.

The Authors

Frank Amponsah

Frank Amponsah is a journalist working as a Senior Political and Human rights reporter with the Crusading Guide, a private newspaper in Ghana.

Petrus Damar Harsanto

He has been working with Indonesia’s English daily The Jakarta Post for 10 years. Working in diverse assignments, including the 2002 Bali bombings, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2009 General Elections, he wrote many articles, some of which winning writing awards. He also got journalism fellowships from Seoul National University in South Korea in 2008 and
Kalmar University in Sweden in 2009. Currently, he works as the editor to the Post’s City/Metro section.

Website: http://www.damarinberlin.wordpress.com

FHM Humayan Kabir

He has been working with the Financial Express (FE), largest business newspaper in Bangladesh, for four years. Before joining the FE, he worked with three other noted English language national newspaper in Bangladesh for five years since early 2002.

Mr. Kabir covers the field of development, business and economy. He is an experienced journalist on the development policy of the Bangladesh government.

He is interested to know the development policies of different countries especially the developed and emerging economies in the world. He is also interested on the online journalism.

Website: http://humayankabir.blogspot.com
Email: kabirhumayan10@gmail.com

Naa Lamiley Bentil

She is a journalist with the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Ghana ’s leading national newspaper since 1957. She currently reports on environmental issues for a special column, ‘Metro Page’.

You can find her at www.bentil.blogspot.com
Email: beehert2@yahoo.com
Twitter: @naa_gh

Anthony Kariuki

Anthony Kariuki is an online sub-editor with the Daily Nation, a publication of the Nation Media Group in Kenya. He has four years online journalism experience.

Email: machatony@gmail.com
Twitter: @Tonykaris

Mai Mai Huong

Mai Mai Huong bases in Ho CHi Minh City, in the Southern of Vietnam. She started her journalism career in 2003 with the “The Gioi Moi” (New Work), a weekly magazine of Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training. Since 2007 Mai Huong has worked as reporter and editor for Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing) Newspaper. In 2009 Sai Gon Tiep Thi became the first newspaper in Vietnam launched a page on facebook and Mai Huong is the one behind the page.

Sandra Mandizvidza

Sandra Mandizvidza is a young female reporter from Harare Zimbabwe. She has four years of experience in the journalism fraternity. Currently she is a senior reporter at The Standard newspaper the only remaining independent Sunday paper in the country. She covers politics, human interest and court news. She also helps with the online edition of the paper.

Reagan Mashavave

Reagan Mashavave is a Zimbabwe freelance journalist based in Harare. He has contributed to several online publications and is also a text stringer for AFP (Agency France Press).He has been reporting on politics for the last five years.

Email: reagmash@gmail.com

Ab.Muqeem Ab.Rahimzi


Ab.Muqeem Ab.Rahimzi has been working with Saba Media Organization since five years in Afghanistan and he is publisher for a regional monthly magazine named ZALAND in south of Afghanistan, Before joining the SMO, he worked with UN as an interpreter and worked with Awaz news Agency as a Radio and TV Journalist in Afghanistan and DW Radio in Bonn Germany. Mr. Ab.Rahimzi covers the fields of political and social. In 2007 he won an award for his audio podcast about human rights in 8th international Radio festival in Iran and now he is in his last year of literature faculty of Kabul University.

Email: muqeem_ab_rahimzi@hotmail.com
Twitter: @muqeem_afg

Flora Nzema

She is a journalist working with the Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET), writing for JET Newsletter and other media in Tanzania . She works for both print and electronic media.

E-mail: f_nzema@hotmail.com
Twitter: @floratz

Said Ahmad Reza

He is working as a journalist for Aatash newspaper based in north Afghanistan. Besides, he is writing for several other local newspapers. He covers all social and political issues. He is still studying his undergraduate in Business Administration at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.

Email: ar.rezaee9@gmail.com
Twitter: @ahmadreza10

Sheilla Sackey

She is a journalist with the Daily Guide, one of the biggest private newspapers in Ghana. She is currently a parliamentary correspondent but occasionally reports on general issues, particularly on women.
Email: naasackeygh@yahoo.com
Twitter: @sheguide

Robab Rosan
He has been working as a cultural correspondent in a daily newspaper called New Age in Bangladesh since 2003. Currently he is the in-charge of the daily’s culture page.
He mainly writes theatre, photography and painting reviews and on other cultural activities.
He also works for the cultural section of Dhaka-based weekly newspaper Holiday.
He is now interested in online journalism.
Email: robabrosan@yahoo.com

Joseph Holandes Ubalde

Joseph Holandes Ubalde is an online journalist who covers migration, HIV/AIDS and development issues in the Philippines. He used to work as the Senior News Producer for GMANews.TV, the official website of one of the Philippines’ leading television network. In 2009, he won a Population and Development award for his story on absent mothers. He is now a researcher and contributor for the website of VERA Files (verafiles.org), a media organization that takes a deeper look at news stories.

Email: markjubalde@gmail.com
Twitter: @joseph_ubalde
Blog: http://wunderfool.wordpress.com

Joann Santiago-Villanueva

Joann Santiago-Villanueva is a reporter for the Philippines News Agency (PNA), the government’s wires agency, since 2003 and currently covers the central bank, private banks, and finance beats. She was previously assigned to the education beat and was a sub-editor for provincial stories in the same company.
E-mail: anndcs@yahoo.com
Website: www.pna.gov.ph

The IIJ-Trainer Team


Peter Berger
He has been the founder and editor-in-chief of the website of “Financial Times Deutschland” (FTD). Peter Berger works now as consultant for big publishing houses like Gruner + Jahr and Bauer – and as multimedia trainer for well known capacity building organisations like IIJ. Peter has more than 30 years of experience in journalism and wrote four books.
Email: berger@medienstratege.de
Website: http://www.medienstratege.de
Twitter: @medienstratege

Claus Hesseling
Claus Hesseling is a freelance journalist and media trainer. He holds a diploma in Political Science and History from Hamburg University. In September 2001 he started working for the online department of Germanys leading TV news show “Tagesschau”. In 2004 he facilitated
journalism trainings for the first time on behalf of InWEnt. In addition, he works as a reporter of business and consumer affairs for the public German TV network ARD.
Email: info@claushesseling.de
Website: http://www.claushesseling.org
Twitter: @the_claus

The IIJ Project Manager

Christiane Käsgen
Christiane Käsgen, senior project manager of the International Institute for Journalism of InWEnt, organised the two-month training on Online and Multimedia Journalism.

E-mail: christiane.kaesgen@inwent.org