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Ce que j’ai tiré des Réunions de printemps du FMI et de la Banque Mondiale à Washington
Saturday at 5:51 PM | Comments ( 0 )
Les Réunions de printemps 2012 du Fonds Monétaire international et de la Banque mondiale auxquelles j’ai été invité cette année, à Washington, au même titre que 35 autres journalistes des pays en développement venus des quatre coins du monde, auront été pour moi plus qu’enrichissantes.
Depuis un peu plus de 10 ans que j’exerce pleinement le métier de journaliste, je n’avais jusque-là pas eu la chance de couvrir un tel évènement planétaire, réunissant autant de personnalités venant des secteurs publics et privés ainsi que de la société civile et des médias qui comptent à travers le monde.
En 2009, au cours d’une session de formation sur le reportage économique et financier, organisée à Dakar (Sénégal), par la Fondation Thomson Reuters et le Fonds pour le Climat des investissements en Afrique, nos facilitateurs nous avaient pourtant initiés à la couverture de pareils événements.
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Using Smallholder Farmer-Groups to Dig Out Poverty
Thu., May 10, 3:52 PM | Comments ( 0 )
After years of dependence of food aid in the semi-arid Eastern Kenya, Stephen Mwangani from Kinyatta village in Yatta district has discovered how to keep his family food secure by using just one acre piece of land despite the droughts.
The entire region also known as Ukambani is dry. But through a church-led self help group known Christian Impact Mission, farmers have discovered means of survival – combining indigenous knowledge with emerging technologies to grow high value horticultural crops for domestic and the export market.
“On my plot, I grow maize purely for domestic consumption, and horticultural crops such as soy beans, French beans, bullet pepper, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes among many others for both domestic and the export market,” said Mwangangi.
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A compact but productive week in London
Wed., May 2, 4:58 PM | Comments ( 0 )
It was just the most desired ‘call’ from a distant global city - London. It was such a surprising call that made my long-cherished dreams come true, which had remained a distant dream to me. The call was from the Thomson Reuters Foundation confirming I was selected to participate in their Financial and Business News course in London. Certainly, that was the best news I had received in a long time because I love to learn and interact with experienced journalists from the globe to enrich my journalistic ability. I finally reached London, such a wonderful city, more importantly, I not only got two wonderful teachers – the 2Rs – Roger and Richard but also brilliant fellow participants.
The entire week brought the best opportunity in my short journalistic career - news writing techniques, playing with news and numbers, interaction, identifying major mistakes in the story, writing strong and meaningful intro (lead), proper use of ‘quotes’, thinking of questions for press conferences, sharing experiences with the top executives and senior Reuters journalists, visiting the London Metal Exchange to see live trading and exciting group discussion—a compact but productive week.
Though it was a tight programme, I never felt bored for one moment because, Roger and Richard made the entire course interesting. I salute both the teachers. I loved their teaching techniques and if I could I would love to attend such programmes 100 times! The tips the two trainers gave are helping me to reduce embarrassing errors. They made sure I covered all the basics in news reporting and during the lectures. They also gave me some pretty good advice on what to keep in mind while reporting. The course was truly a unique experience, and has had such a huge impact on me. Now every time I face a problem in reporting I ask myself: how would Reuters deal with it? I feel I always get my answer. I think I’ve become more thorough, checking names and numbers, trying to get as many sources as I can while working on a story.
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London Calling: a Fledgling Tunisian Journalist’s Reuters Experience
Wed., May 2, 4:45 PM | Comments ( 0 )
I would have never thought over a year ago that I'd return to London as a journalist. Not even in my wildest dreams would I have thought I'd be training with Reuters, in the words of my colleague, Bassem, the trusted news agency par excellence and by far the reference in the media world. I was lucky the Thomson Reuters Foundation selected me to follow the Writing and Reporting News course in March 2012.
Over a year ago I never nurtured the idea of becoming a journalist or even less a citizen journalist, commonly known as a blogger. Then came the Tunisian Revolution, the first spark in the new Arab World Order, the Arab Spring, the Arab Awakening as it were. I started to learn the basics of journalism: how to be objective, fast, reliable and straightforward. The Thomson Reuters Foundation training was like a “déjà vu” journalistic experience for me; as I already have spent the last nine months with Tunisia’s first English speaking news website Tunisia Live, working on the skills required to become a good journalist.
What the TR programme offered me was something new in my budding experience as a journalist: how can a journalist be fast and deliver objective and accurate news. That was the biggest challenge I've yet encountered as a journalist. I loved learning, absorbing, sucking in and devouring the plethora of information from world-class trainers Bob and Mathieu. What have I learnt most? How to keep a cool head, be humble about one’s achievements as a reporter, an investigative journalist who endeavours to develop, sharpen and build skills to be a successful journalist.
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Fighting impunity in the Philippines
Tue., April 17, 5:44 PM | Comments ( 0 )
One death is too many. As I write this, human rights organizations and loved ones of victims of enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings continue to cry out for justice.
The numbers are stark and telling: 150 journalists killed since 1986; at least 206 cases of enforced disappearances; and 1,206 cases of extra judicial killings since 2001, according to data from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Karapatan.
Fighting impunity is an uphill battle but the people are not giving up. Everyday, in the courtroom, in unknown places, through images and various campaigns, the struggle continues.
The Internet, for instance, is also used as a tool to raise awareness on the situation in the country and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
But this is not enough. The Aquino administration must make true its promise to address the problem of impunity in the country.
Until then, the number of deaths will continue to grow. And one death is too many.Watch Iris's video on impunity in the Philippines here.
This multimedia project by Iris Gonzales, a Thomson Reuters Foundation alumni, is part of Google's Collaboratory Project on Human Rights and the Internet launched in Berlin, Germany in March 2012. Details on the project are available at irisgonzales.blogspot.com
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'A Heartfelt Thank You'
Tue., April 10, 12:26 PM | Comments ( 0 )
I enjoyed my stay in London with Thomson Reuters Foundation during the "Business and Financial News Reporting" course in early March. Roger & Richard were fantastic instructors and I particularly enjoyed conversations with my colleagues, Alfredo, Ahmad, Anton, Bishnu, Gabriella, Minh Te, Moinuddin, Pak, Yihan, Teecee and Tajudeen.
The course gave me insight into financial and business news reporting. I enjoyed the trip to London Metal Exchange (LME) and was intrigued with the seriousness at the exchange, as well as the charged atmosphere during each trading session.
A transaction that will determine the fate of the world’s commodities takes only five minutes! It’s fascinating. The face-to-face-bargaining adds to the joy of the winners and the disappointment of the losers on the exchange floor.
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Etched in Noam’s Mind
Tue., April 10, 10:48 AM | Comments ( 0 )
One week, 168 hours, 10080 minutes, 604800 seconds
When the journey comes to an end, some people reach out for their notebooks and review what they had written. The music flows - “Claire De Lune” - thoughts shake off the morning dew and the writer stares at her title: “Unforgettable Experience at Thomson Reuters Foundation.” The writer is satisfied and ready to tell her short, but memorable story.
From Beirut to London
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"A Day in the Life"-Alumni
Tue., April 10, 10:11 AM | Comments ( 0 )
Kamal Raj Sigdel is the Senior Sub-Editor of The Kathmandu Post, one of the largest-selling English newspapers in Nepal, and is an alumnus of a 10-day “Reporting on HIV/AIDs” Reuters course in Nairobi. He reflected on his time with the Thomson Reuters Foundation during November of 2009 when we interviewed him early this week.
How did you become a journalist?
When I started my bachelor’s degree, I discovered that I had an interest
in media, and in writing particularly. This inspired me to do my master’s thesis on a media-related subject – the male gaze and ideological formations in Nepalese TV commercials. After I graduated, I continued to carry out research on the constructs of the media in Nepal. These were the foundations that were crucial to me becoming a journalist. -
Climate change calamities are easy to predict, and manage
Thu., April 5, 1:39 PM | Comments ( 0 )
After decades of dependence on donations and food aid, East Kenyan native Sophia Mwende Mutua discovered how to embrace tough climatic conditions by growing drought-resistant crops for commercial and domestic consumption.
“Eastern Kenya is a dry land area,” Mutua said. “At times, we can go three years without any signs of rainfall. Yet, the only way to survive when faced with these circumstances can only be through food aid distributed by humanitarian organisations and agencies,” said the mother of five.
She added, “We work at a community level through an organization known as Mbuvo Commercial Village, which has a membership of 560 farmers drawn from 20 self help groups.”
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Writing Financial and Business News, from London to Buenos Aires
Thu., March 29, 12:41 PM | Comments ( 0 )
Roger Jeal, one of the trainers of TRF’s Writing Business and Financial News course gave us an important piece of advice on the first day of the course. It went something like this; “Don´t believe you’ll be able to apply what we teach you once you’re back in your jobs”.
He was right. Not only because each media outlet that we work for has its own rules and every editor has his own working mood, but also because after spending a great and hard working week in London with some of the best colleagues I have ever had, I realized that the standards of journalism at Reuters are unique, and very difficult to find in other places.
For me it was like reading The Bible again – returning to the source with the old school prophets. Roger Jeal and Richard Waddington were awesome trainers. Roger focused on teaching us about stock markets, currency, and bonds, whileRichard gave us extraordinary (and tough) feedback on the stories we produced every day from our arrival at Reuters astonishing building in Canary Wharf.
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NGOs demand no restrictions
Wed., March 14, 4:23 PM | Comments ( 0 )
The Egyptian Gazette - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 06:55:23 PM
CAIRO – Launching a new NGO in Egypt could come with many obstacles, such as start-up capitals, red tape and problems with receiving funds, either from inside Egypt or from elsewhere."The law governing NGOs in Egypt is in dire need of more amendments," according to Ahmed Abdel-Aziz, the head of the NGOs and Civil Society Department in Giza’s Social Solidarity Directorate.
NGOs have played a big role in improving civil society, despite the outdated law and the government’s inattention. These organizations have helped many Egyptians by providing education, eradicating poverty, increasing political awareness and advocating for women’s rights.
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Catching Up with Alumni
Wed., March 14, 11:26 AM | Comments ( 0 )
Pranom Leephan-Williams is an alumna of a Thomson Reuters Foundation Writing and Producing Television News course she took in England and Germany in the fall of 1997. After taking some time off to raise her child, the Thai television correspondent now hopes to break back into the news business. We caught up with her recently and she remembers her experiences with the Foundation.
Q: How did you become a journalist?
Leephan-Williams: I have always had an interest in politics and news, but I never thought about being a journalist until I was bored to tears at a corporate desk job as an international coordinator and purchaser. I took at job with TV5, but I didn’t intend to work in television for very long. After some time passed, though, I fell in love with the station and took every chance to improve my skills that will help me become a better journalist.
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Alumni Reflect on Business and Financial News Reporting Course in London
Tue., March 13, 10:55 AM | Comments ( 1 )
'Go out for just one day, and you will find a lot of wisdoms.'
By Minh Tri Le
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Alumni Reflect on Writing Financial and Business News in London
Tue., March 13, 10:10 AM | Comments ( 0 )
'Go out for just one day, and you will find a lot of wisdoms.'
By Minh Tri Le
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German charities fight infant mortality in Senegal
Mon., February 27, 5:03 PM | Comments ( 0 )
By Buya Jammeh
In the outlying community of Touba Dialaw, which has barely been touched by the Senegalese government’s improvements in health care, four children have been dying at birth every day due to a lack of facilities.
This grim statistic prompted two German charities, Infa International Familien Hilfe and Apotheker Helfen, a pharmacists’ organization, to launch a 50,000-euro ($65,000) project in the community to improve access to maternal health.
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Las malas condiciones de los caminos entorpecen el crecimiento de la producción rural en el noreste de Colombia
Fri., February 24, 4:51 PM | Comments ( 0 )
Cerca de cien trabajadores rurales del departamento de Santander, en el noreste de Colombia, encuentran demanda en el exterior para sus productos, pero no consiguen consolidarse en el mercado interno por causa de las pésimas condiciones de los caminos.
Los setenta integrantes de la Corporación de Recuperación Comunera del Lienzo (Corpolienzo), que producen algodón de forma orgánica y artesanal, están a la expectativa de participar, en agosto de 2012, en una feria en Nueva York, donde pueden abrir oportunidades para exportar sus edredones, chaquetas y sandalias, todos hechos por comunidades locales de la pequeña ciudad de Charalá. Aún así, el jefe de Corpolienzo, Guillermo Rosales, dice que el mayor desafío es incrementar las ventas en su propio país.
“El problema de los caminos en Colombia es crucial y afecta todos los productos”, afirmó Rosales. “Infelizmente es algo que está fuera de nuestro alcance. Tenemos que ajustarnos a esa realidad y, para eso, todos los plazos de entrega se calculan con una anticipación mucho mayor. Perdemos tiempo y dinero”, añadió.
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Investigative journalism course in Montenegro unhindered by nature
Tue., February 7, 6:15 PM | Comments ( 0 )
Electricity went down just as we started on the most emotionally charged part of the training - a journalism ethics quiz. That’s right; even Thomson Reuters Foundation courses can be affected by nature. It had been snowing heavily in Podgorica for the previous 24 hours, but the power grid had held out. It collapsed in many parts of the city when the snow turned into a thunderstorm.
But the participants, 12 journalists from leading Montenegrin media outlets, showed no sign of using this as an excuse for an early finish of the course. Instead, we found a laptop with a charged battery and continued the quiz in nearly total darkness as the training room was in a basement.
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Ethics & standards of social networking and new media in the Arab world
Tue., January 10, 4:56 PM | Comments ( 1 )
The Thomson Reuters Foundation workshop shed new light on the various aspects of using social media to cover the Arab uprisings, a task that would be difficult without input from various parties on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media outlets.
Updates from social media outlets are becoming one of, if not the, major source of news for stories we as journalists cover events in countries closed to independent media such as Syria. Using these mediums, however, poses ethical questions about the ability to trust the eyewitness reports from parties which may have biased view to the events occurring on the ground. In Syria, this is certainly a dilemma we face every day as we try to ascertain whether the news reported by activists and eyewitnesses matches the reality on the ground.
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Advanced course in Tunis equips journalists in finance and governance
Tue., December 20, 2:41 PM | Comments ( 0 )
We were eight journalists from seven French-speaking African countries, taking part in a five-day advanced course at the Majestic Hotel in Tunis to strengthen our skills in covering finance and governance.
Development finance, international financial flows, the fight against corruption, tax evasion, corporate governance and financial transparency were the themes for investigative story projects that the participants had to work up.
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My World Press Institute Fellowship
Fri., December 2, 12:33 PM | Comments ( 1 )
From imposing high-rises in the world's financial centre in New York to pristine mid-west countryside lakes in Ely, Iowa, the two month World Press Institute Fellowship was any journalists' delight.
Visiting top media houses in ten cities - Ely, Iowa, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, Atlanta and Washington DC-- in two months, marked by long waits in airports, brief brunches and hardly four hours of sleep a day, with ten international journalists has been the most exhilarating experience so far in my five years of life as journalist.
The vibrant media scene in the US, at a time when the country is facing serious economic challenges was of particular interest to me. I was impressed by the aggressive use of technology by American newspapers to beat the slump in the industry. Again, the rise of media houses like MinnPost, a non-profit organization run by seasoned journalists who lost their jobs in the recession seemed an innovation never tested before. Visits to media houses like CNN and New York Times, gave a whole new perspective to the science behind news-gathering and presenting.
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Advanced Financial Reporting in Johannesburg
Fri., November 25, 4:33 PM | Comments ( 1 )
I kept my fingers crossed waiting for that email from the Thomson Reuters Foundation confirming that it had accepted me to participate in the Finance and Governance – Advanced Reporting Workshop in Johannesburg.
It finally came through and for sure that was the best news I had received in a long time. I concluded this was the best opportunity for my career especially at this time when am looking at newsroom management as my next destination. I participated in the Financial and Economic Reporting training course in Uganda’s capital Kampala last September, which was the baseline for me to conclude that Reuters courses are so valuable. I would attend 100 if possible.
Only two ‘Es’ best describe this training: education and excitement. The tools that were used throughout the course were exciting but very educative, and unforgettable. The first lesson of the course was to interview our partners. We were set up in pairs and instructed to get out as much information from our partners as possible. The information would later be relayed out in a short presentation. My partner was Tokunbo Olajide, the participant from Lagos, Nigeria. Tokunbo is passionate about travelling but has a phobia for flying. Yes, I laughed because I wondered: “How does he reconcile the two?”
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Need for an African Common Position in Durban Climate Talks
Thu., November 24, 5:51 PM | Comments ( 0 )
The time has come for the global community to converge for yet another round of negotiations to come up with a new deal that will help stabilise the climate system and assure vulnerable communities of a promising future.
Climatic conditions are changing very fast, and the impact can be seen all over. Yet, Africa, which bears the least responsibility for the phenomenon, is evidently on the losing end. However, this is the right time for African negotiators to spell out their conditions during the negotiation platform to be held in Durban, South Africa beginning at the end of November.
It therefore calls for the Heads of State and Government representing Africa to come up with a common position that will embrace the cause of climate justice and ensure outcomes of the climate negotiations that will keep Africa safe, safeguard our right to development and implement the United Nations Climate Convention and its Kyoto Protocol.
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Seeking For Climate Justice Ahead of Durban Talks
Thu., November 17, 10:18 AM | Comments ( 1 )
Kenyan Environmentalists, scholar, civil society groups, farmers and community representatives have started a two week journey using a bus to South Africa as they seek support for climate justice at the forthcoming negotiation in Durban.
The activists are collecting signatures from various countries to petition African leaders to work together in support of an international climate change treaty that is responsive to the continent’s realities and the reality of science.
The 15 day pan-African road-show, dubbed ‘Trans-African Caravan of Hope’, will traverse 10 African countries lobbying for a common African agenda on climate change and climate justice ahead of the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) – Conference of Parties (COP)17 that will be taking place in Durban, South Africa later this month.
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TRF's Election Reporting Course in Cairo: my experience
Mon., November 14, 11:24 AM | Comments ( 0 )
I had high expectations from the moment I learned that I had been selected to attend a Thomson Reuters course on Elections Reporting in Cairo. But the course exceeded my expectations. The methodology and tools made the course different and newer than all the previous courses I had attended.
The tools used to gain information were most befitting for a media organization that is as large and prestigious as Reuters. I learned to respect deadlines, which is something that I and many Egyptians are not used to!
I benefited from the mix of participants who represented a wide range of backgrounds, media outlets and different views. I also liked the break-out sessions and working in small groups
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Embracing Lessons Learnt from Climate Change Adaptation in Kenya
Wed., November 9, 3:30 PM | Comments ( 0 )
For many communities living in the arid and semi arid parts of Eastern Kenya, climate change is a blessing rather than a curse to their lives.
For tens of years, before the phenomenon became a big issue, residents from this part of the world depended on alms and food aid from well wishers. But because of the worsening climatic conditions, the government and related organisations have intervened, teaching them techniques that have changed many people’s lives for the better.
Geoffrey Ndung’u of Kanyonga village in Mbeere South in Eastern Kenya is one of the beneficiaries. For years even before the climatic conditions worsened to the current status, he could not easily afford food for his children. According to Stephen Karanja, the Water Officer at the Nbeere South district office, the area receives erratic rainfall that is sometimes as little as 650mm per year, which is too little to sustain rain-fed agriculture.
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Writing and Reporting News: Changing and refreshing perspectives
Mon., November 7, 4:33 PM | Comments ( 0 )
The phone call from the programme administrator at the Thomson Reuters Foundation office offering me a place on their Writing and Reporting News course in London was indeed unexpected. I even still think about it now that I am back.
The first lesson of the course that we had was on forming questions. We were set up in pairs and had to interview our partners to get the information necessary for a short presentation. The session on the inverted pyramid provided us with structuring techniques to provide condensed but adequate information to the readers. Story writing exercises were realistic and helped me in areas of weakness such as using quotes in the best way possible.
The discussion on 10 ethics rules fed our journalistic appetite and I was extremely interested to learn about the essential qualities that make an ideal journalist. During the course we had chance to listen to Mr Peter Apps, a risk correspondent for Reuters, about his precious experience in his job.
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Writing and Reporting News: Thomson Reuters Foundation makes the world smaller for journalists
Thu., November 3, 9:59 AM | Comments ( 1 )
On the first day of Thomson Reuters Foundation’s training course Writing and Reporting News in October, I met 13 journalists from Egypt, Paraguay, Italy, Brazil, Uganda, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Slovakia and Columbia.
I had never had this kind of experience of doing a journalism course together with journalists from various countries. Some of them were from print media, some broadcasters and some are working for online media. It’s a great opportunity to do the course together with such colourful classmates.
The first thing we had to do was introduce ourselves. Unlike a usual introduction, our trainers, Lisa Essex and Mathieu Robbins, asked us to split into pairs and then introduce our partners. It was the first opportunity for us to use a journalistic skill: asking questions. It forced us not only to get basic information, but also to get familiar with each other.
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Writing and Reporting News: Thomson Reuters Foundation’s program and a London vendetta
Thu., November 3, 9:45 AM | Comments ( 0 )
My cell phone rang at about 11am and when I answered it I was greeted by an English voice. At first I thought that one of my friends was fooling around with me upon my return from London, where I had completed the "Writing and Reporting News" program at Thomson Reuters Foundation, but I was surprised by the caller’s fluent English.
This was no one kidding me as I found out that my caller was indeed Professor Phillip Robbins who is the social researcher at the University of Oxford. He asked to meet with me upon his arrival in Cairo which would be his second visit here. On his first visit, I had helped him with one of his research projects.
At six pm, I went to meet Robbins and on my way, the most prominent thing on my mind was the upcoming day of the 5th of November in London which would see massive anti-capitalism protests similar to the famous film ’V for Vendetta”.
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Writing and Reporting News in London: Ice-breaking games
Thu., October 27, 12:58 PM | Comments ( 0 )
I attended the course named “Writing and Reporting News” organized by Thomson Reuters Foundation which was held between 10th and 14th of October this year. My instructors were Lisa Essex and Mathieu Robbins. Lisa and Mathieu are both excellent reporters who worked for Reuters before. I learned a lot from them like how to write company news and the ethics of being a journalist.
My work at the Apple Daily is to cover the news on medical issues. So, I am very unfamiliar in writing company news. During the course, Lisa and Mathieu taught us the structure of a news article first. Then, they taught us what questions we should ask in a press conference of a company which is suffering from a scandal.
For the ethics, the instructors reminded us the importance of accuracy in journalism and how to avoid any bias. Lisa carried out a little quiz with us by giving us some scenarios and we had a group discussion on how to tackle the problems in these scenarios. They were scenarios that had really happened to Reuters’ journalists in the past.
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TRF's 'Writing and Reporting News' course: "Keeping the essence of journalism"
Tue., October 25, 4:01 PM | Comments ( 0 )
By Juan Calcena
Last week myself and 13 other journalists from all over the world had the chance to take part in Thomson Reuters Foundation’s “Writing and Reporting News” course in London. I’ve learned, above all, that journalism speaks only one language.
People tend to say that maths and music are universal languages. After the experience I had travelling to London and getting to know such wonderful colleagues from Egypt, Uganda, Hong Kong, Colombia, Brazil, Slovakia, Italy, China, Vietnam and Myanmar, for me, the press and journalism is now a global language too.
About this blog
Participants from our training courses share their views on journalism from around the world.
