Forum Training Agenda

In this session, we look at the main events and activities taking place during ARIJ 15th annual forum this year. From the opening ceremoney to the discussion panels to the closing and awards ceremoney, ARIJ22 promises to be a distinguished edition.

Tom Heinemann has been working as an independent investigative journalist for more than 25 years. He was recognized twice as an “Outstanding Investigative Journalist” by the Association on Investigative journalism in Denmark (FUJ). His films have been sold all over the world, and he has received numerous international awards for his work on global issues.

Fact checkers from Morocco, Egypt and Palestine share their experiences working under challenging conditions: technology, resources, conflict, and repression.

This is your chance to meet the journalists who worked on some of the most recent ARIJ investigations.

This panel takes a look at the successes and failures of independent media projects before and after the dramatic changes in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Russia. What are the lessons learned for independent media in the Arab World?

Where does the dominant discourse on the Palestine question stand today? and what does it communicate? This is a crucial question – in defending independent media – because the Palestinian people do not fully control the discourse, which is stacked against them and their rights.

In an award-winning journalism career spanning nearly four decades, Glenn Kessler has covered foreign policy, economic policy, the White House, Congress, airline safety and Wall Street. He was The Washington Post’s Chief State Department reporter for nine years, traveling around the world with three subsequent Secretaries of State since 2011. Kessler is editor and chief writer of The Fact Checker since 2011. This is a golden opportunity to ask an expert.

Legendary Documentary Filmmaker Assad Taha will answer your questions on how to turn your investigations into stories.

Increasingly, journalists and their sources around the world are being hacked, doxxed, harassed, surveilled, and assaulted by story targets, criminal organizations, governments, and proxies acting on behalf of autocrats and oligarchs. In response, GIJN is proud to launch a first-of-its-kind safety evaluation guide for watchdog journalism groups in Arabic. JSAT is a free, survey-based self-assessment tool that offers practical solutions tailored to each newsroom’s profile and vulnerabilities and serves individual journalists.

Governments and big companies are using AI to solve mega problems in their communities, with no accountability or control. These algorithms could result in discrimination and harassment of marginalized groups in society. They could also result in widening social and economic gaps. What can we do as investigative journalists towards that both locally and internationally?

To preserve freedom of expression, which is considered the main pillar of democracy, journalists have to protect themselves in order to accomplish their mission. However, in reality, journalists are subject to many threats, including the threat if getting killed. This session discusses topics related to accountability, and means of protection and safety.

Cross-border Environmental investigations are here to stay. This trend has resulted in more complex and large-scale cross-border investigations from starvation to following the money, and from politics coverages to social perspectives. This session sheds light on the best practices for 2023.

The session will explore how Instagram’s content ranking works and the framework informing recommendation guidelines on the app, and by doing so, demystify misconceptions about the so-called “Shadow-banning”.

Over the past year, WIN has brought global learnings on how to make newsrooms financially sustainable in the digital era to the region by customizing its Digital ABC training module to Arab newsrooms. This session walks through the ABC program from both WIN and user perspectives and takes forward the conversation on what needs to be done to support independent news sustainability within the realities of the Arab World media eco-system.

With the current shrinking space on journalists, what has changed in the way independent Arab publishers’ function? Where are the boundaries of publishing from within the Arab world? and what are the boundaries of exile publishers?

10 Years after ‘Arab Spring’, what were the main lessons learnt? The February Network, established in 2019, brought together different emerging media organisations from Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt to organise and establish a year‐long training program for aspiring journalists under the name Alternative Academy for Arab Journalism.

Legendary ِWriter Aref Hijjawi on harnessing the power of language.

Whether you play an instrument, have a beautiful voice, or recite Arabic poetry, this night is your opportunity to shine and show your talent to the world.

There is a great deal of information about Arab states affairs hidden in American registers. Matters which the Arab politicians and/or authorities wish to keep hidden are openly available in the USA. But you have to know where and how to look. NBC News Senior Investigative Editor Andrew W. Lehren takes you fishing.

The ICFJ Pamela Howard Forum on Global Crisis Reporting in partnership with the Self-Investigation and IJNet have produced a digital stress management and mental health-focused program for the MENA region to address an increasing need among journalists and editors reporting high-stakes stories on the frontlines of war, exposing corrupt regimes, and more in contexts where there often are little to no protections for a free and independent press. During this session we plan to share what was learned in the production of the program, through its participants, and from our trainers in the context of the MENA region.

From Africa Check to India to Sweden. From post to pre publication fact checking, there are striking examples that we can all learn from on how being part of a network of fact checkers can be very beneficial and an additional safety nest, if it is based on both methodology and skills.

Looking back at 3 years of innovation funding across the world, this discussion is focused around the main global trends, the regional nuances and the challenges to tackle.

Only a few media funders believe in “core funding”. For those who do, what are their priorities in the region?

There are a lot of common trends and challenges between fact checkers all over the world. Where are we heading next?

What is ARIJ looking for in 2023 investigations? The editorial committee of ARIJ, which receives and discuss pitches, to pick the selected, reveals the priorities of 2023.

Promenant Anchor Jasim Azzawi on the Art of the Interview.

Halim Music Ensemble is famous for playing Arabic classical music. Established in 2018, its composed of a group of instrumentalists and a chorus, led by composer and Qanun player Halim Khatib