Finally! I made it to the West Bank

After working for Reuters for 18 years I have handled numerous stories about the Palestinian Territories, the Intifada and the various outbreaks of trouble which have marred that region for so many years. 

I have also taught a television course for the Foundation since 1996, which has taken me to more than 30 countries. 

So it is perhaps surprising that in all that time and all those trips I have never managed to find a reason to visit so many of my good friends and colleagues in Ramallah, Hebron and other news regional centres. 

I was therefore delighted to be asked to join my old friend Reuters Cameraman/Producer Nael Shyoukhi to teach a course for Palestinian TV journalists in Ramallah. It was the chance I'd been waiting for, for almost two decades, so naturally I grabbed the opportunity with both hands - and the week did not disappoint. 

Seventeen journalists from local TV stations and websites attended the course. Camera operators, producers and reporters discussed and debated the various aspects of making video news.  They even argued at times but they would not have been Palestinians if they'd meekly accepted everything that was said without challenge :-). 

The five-day course from Sunday May 27 to Thursday May 31 was held in the Amin News Network, whose director Khaled Abu Aker and administrator Dima Bader ensured all went smoothly. 

We discussed the full range of TV techniques, watched video examples from other counties and dissected some news reports compiled by participants on the course. They were keen to hear our thoughts on the local media and had many interesting contributions of their own. 

It was not only a good course, it also got me to a part of the world I've long wanted to visit - including a quick trip to the Dead Sea and Bethlehem - and it took Saudi Arabia-based Nael back to the land of his birth and home to many of his family.  A good result for all, I would suggest. 

 Lloyd Watson.  Media Consultant.