30th November 2022
By Mustafa Kuleli

Inter-Mediterranean workshop on hate speach and peace journalism

With the support of the Fritt Ord Foundation, the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) organised an inter-Mediterranean workshop on hate speech and peace journalism for colleagues from Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.

This meeting in Cyprus may be a pilot project in this phase, but will hopefully expand with more face-to-face meetings across the region. For the next year, we hope to build new workshops in Turkish and Greek cities (Athens, İstanbul, Thessaloniki, İzmir) for follow-up meetings.

Since Turkey-Greece relations are tense again, we met in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus on the 20th of October. (Ledra Palace Bicommunal rooms). EJN Honorary President Aidan White and Turkey Representative Mustafa Kuleli met with journalists and academics to listen to their needs and discuss how we can promote quality journalism.

“Inter-Mediterranean conflict reporting workshop” which was supported by The Press Workers’ Union in the north (Basin-Sen) and the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), focused on ethical journalism issues on the Island. It also proposed inspiring solutions and cooperation between the media and NGOs.

What is needed for the next steps?

The participants suggested many bright ideas for the year 2023, such as:

  • A shared bicommunal newsroom or at least daily agenda meetings (physical or virtual)
  • Daily communication between working journalists from two sides 
  • Crossborder journalism projects (collaboration)
  • Workshops on quality journalism
  • Workshops on financial sustainability and revenue models
  • Workshops on conflict reporting, peace journalism, hate speech, wording, discourse, 
  • Face-to-face training in the newsrooms