Tunisia: Workshop for radio journalists

"The reforms in Tunisia are not happening fast enough for many of the people there," says Michael Tecklenburg, deputy head of DW Akademie's Africa division. He has just returned from the country and says the situation is once again coming to a head. Riots occurred again in Tunis at the beginning of May. The seasoned journalist was in the capital to open a two-week workshop for radio journalists on May 3rd, which coincided with World Press Freedom Day. The training focused on election reporting.

Journalists from seven state-run and private radio stations located in the capital and in rural areas took part. "We want to demonstrate a presence in the provincial regions and in future become active there as well." Journalists receive little support in these regions even though their role is gaining significance, Tecklenburg says. "Until now the media were centrally controlled from Tunis. Now they can report independently."

One primary aim of the DW Akademie training workshop was to prepare journalists to produce balanced reports on the elections, politicians and their agendas so listeners can actively take part in the democratic process. Politicians and political experts were also invited to the workshop. "This was also about communicating and becoming more aware of each other," Tecklenburg explains. "In all, the project is to help establish the Tunisian media not just as the Fourth Estate, but as the fourth pillar of democracy."

The 14-day workshop was run by two experienced trainers: Carine Debrabandère, a DW Radio journalist, and Rüdiger Maack, the former ARD (German public broadcasting network) bureau chief in Rabat, Morocco.

The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in Tunis contributed to the workshop in terms of content, logistics, funding and above all, local expertise. "The FES is well-
established in Tunisia and has a very good network. This was extremely helpful during this critical situation," Tecklenburg says.

That is crucial for the future direction of DW Akademie projects in Tunisia. Further joint workshops are planned with a focus on the role and the future of public broadcasting in this budding democracy.