AMMAN (ILO News) – With the ILO’s support, a group of Arab journalists have been learning tricks of the trade from seasoned experts on how to cover labour market issues. The South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Journalism Fellowship for Arab States brought together participants from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Over a period of almost nine months, participating journalists engaged in peer-to-peer learning and exchange of experiences and expertise, as well as training and advice from regional media practitioners, ILO specialists and mentors.

The ILO launched the fellowship in cooperation with the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), an organization through which media professionals deliver training activities on ethics and human rights.

The fellowship aimed to promote a more robust, comprehensive and human-centred approach to reporting on Arab labour markets, through stronger cooperation, amplified communication across the region, and increased investment in the capacity of regional journalists. Under the initiative, participating journalists built their capacity to cover pressing labour-related issues that are not receiving adequate coverage in the region.

The fellowship’s training outcomes will help the participants to stimulate community dialogue about such issues in their professional careers. Ultimately, their reportage will improve communication between communities, the media, workers, employers and the government, in hopes of achieving the maximum benefit for society.

“We found that it is rare that Arab media outlets cover these issues of work in a comprehensive manner, or in depth. There is also a dearth in journalists who specialize in covering these issues,” said Salwa Kanaana, ILO Regional Communication and Public Information officer for Arab States. “The Fellowship aims to transform knowledge into action that leads to decent work and social justice,” Kanaana added.

Another key aspect of the fellowship is facilitating South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), which promotes ideas of peer learning and partnerships both regionally and globally.

Anita Amorim, head of the Emerging and Special Partnerships Unit at the ILO said: “SSTC has a very important role for the ILO to work as a facilitator and an advocate, bringing people together”.

“The fellowship aimed for peer-to-peer exchange amongst the journalists on labour market situations in the region. On the other hand, we also learned from the journalists and from their views on decent work,” Amorim continued.

The participants agreed with the valuable potential of SSTC. “Such programmes are very important for journalists to widen their contacts, relationships and experiences, and discover ways to develop their work,” said Raheel Dandash, a participant and journalist at Al Akhbar newspaper in Lebanon.

Fellowship participants engaged in two online training workshops, and worked with experts and mentors, to become part of a generation of regional journalists who have a firm understanding of the ILO’s decent work mandate.

Through the workshops, participants gained deeper insights into the ILO’s tripartite structure – which brings together governments, employers, and workers of member states.

Also as part of the fellowship, the ILO and EJN launched a set of ethical reporting guidelines on labour market issues in the Arab region. The launch occurred at the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) Annual Forum 2021, during a panel event entitled “Ethics in Reporting on Labour Market Issues Hosted by EJN & ILO”. The seven-point guide, available in both Arabic and English, aims to provide support to journalisms working to cover the world of work accurately, fairly and equitably.

Participating journalists produced in-depth media reports published in their respective organisations. The journalists reported on issues ranging from occupational safety and health, labour migration, employment, and women in the labour market to the impact of regional crises on workers and employers, social protection and rights at work. Following is a selection of the work the journalists produced during the Fellowship:

Lebanon’s teachers: collective failure and individual attempts at survival by Rida Hariri
Repercussions of the financial crisis on the relationship between employers and domestic workers in Lebanon by Rida Hariri
“Work we invented ourselves”: circumventing closed paths in Lebanon by Sabah Jalloul
The women who work in Lebanon’s health sector: the heavy burden of confronting Covid-19 amidst the collapse of the country By Sabah Jalloul
A crumbling infrastructure: another aspect of the Lebanese crisis By Hanan Hamdan
Revived by the economic crisis: How do workers in local industries deal with the Lebanese crisis? By Hanan Hamdan
Hello, how can I help you? Infringements on the rights of call centre employees working from home By Afnan Abu Yahya
When the employer decides what employees can post on Facebook by Afnan Abu Yahya
Day workers in Jordan look towards legal protection by Mahmoud Al Sharaan
Will Jordanian training and employment programmes lower unemployment rates? by Mahmoud Al Sharaan
How has Covid-19 affected domestic work in Kuwait? By Salima Lebel
Worker cities: a promising dream By Salima Lebel
Iraqi women at work: denied promotion and higher positions By Assad Zalzali
Uncertain future faces millions of workers without social protection in Iraq By Assad Zalzali
Migrant workers in Jordan: a future contingent on the employer’s mood by Ahmad Malkawi