Arab League, AGFUND Launch Workshop to Train Arab Journalists on Data Journalism and Combating Fake News

Arab League, AGFUND Launch Workshop to Train Arab Journalists on Data Journalism and Combating Fake News
 
Amr Yehia 

A workshop titled “Enhancing the Capacities of Arab Journalists in Using and Disseminating Developmental Statistical Data and Indicators” kicked off today in Cairo, organized by the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Social Affairs Sector – Social Field Studies and Surveys Unit) in cooperation with the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND). The three-day workshop is dedicated to journalists specialized in developmental media from media outlets accredited to the League of Arab States.

The workshop aims to deepen Arab journalists' understanding of social and developmental indicators, enhance their skills in verifying sources and methodologies before publication, and provide them with the knowledge and expertise needed to verify information and combat fake news related to developmental issues.

It also aims to improve the capacity of Arab media institutions to produce reliable content on youth, health, education, and poverty, taking into account the specificities of Arab societies, and to build a sustainable cooperation network bringing together journalists, statisticians, and researchers across the Arab region. This would contribute to bridging the communication gap between data producers and media content producers and to entrenching statistical culture within media institutions.

The workshop further seeks to elevate the level and quality of public debate within Arab countries by making developmental issues an integral part of ongoing public dialogue, rather than merely seasonal news linked to the release of a specific report or new statistics. It also aims to encourage and develop data journalism and build a generation of Arab journalists specialized in developmental issues capable of discussing and evaluating development plans and programs.

The workshop's agenda includes an introduction to the Social Field Studies and Surveys Unit (objectives and future vision), the importance of data and statistics for journalists in population and development issues, the knowledge foundations for understanding developmental issues, indicators of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, skills for handling statistical data and transforming data into impactful media stories, data journalism techniques and storytelling methods in addressing developmental issues, and producing multi-platform media content.

Minister Plenipotentiary Dr. Ghada Al-Saleh, Director of the Social Field Studies and Surveys Unit, said in her opening remarks that the workshop comes within the framework of the League of Arab States' endeavor to enhance capacities and raise Arab competencies, and its keenness to support the role of media in addressing social and developmental issues based on data and statistical indicators.

She added that the workshop builds on the Unit's accumulated experience in training journalists specialized in developmental media dating back to 2006, during which it organized nine specialized training courses benefiting dozens of Arab journalists. These courses covered topics related to developmental issues and how to use, analyze, and publish statistical data and indicators in the media field, the latest of which was in 2023.

For his part, Bachir El-Hargani, representative of the Media Department at the League of Arab States, stressed that the absence of communication channels between the two sides always opens the way for growing doubts about the integrity of official data, fuels rumors, and deprives Arab citizens of their right to access developmental knowledge that directly affects the details of their daily lives.

He added that the workshop targets journalists, reporters, and content producers specialized in developmental issues from various media institutions accredited to the League of Arab States, with the aim of equipping them with basic skills in dealing with developmental data, analyzing population indicators, and formulating them in an accurate journalistic style.

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