Date: 25 February 2014
Country: Egypt
Only one year ago, fifteen Egyptian students from six universities, with the support of the Media Diversity Institute (MDI) started producing Ahna keda, webzine covering political issues and promoting inclusiveness of all citizens in the media. Ahna Keda (The Way We Are) attracted the attention of the mainstream media in Egypt such as Nile television.
Ali Hamed, who was involved in a creation of the webzine and its chief editor, was a guest on Nile television talking about its success and the importance of having all the citizens to be heard and seen by the media regardless of their political, social and cultural background.“Students or young journalists hardly find an opportunity to get trained or work in big news agencies, and our main aim is to assist them to take their first steps in their career and thus pave their way towards brighter future” Hamed explained.
The webzine aims at creating a portal for Egyptian youth to produce unbiased media content based on the concepts of diversity and inclusion to be a building brick for a new generation of young editors to operate on professional and ethical standards.
AHamed elaborated that through Ahna Keda webzine and its social media integration especially through Facebook, marginalized voices can be heard and represented on a large scale.
The project itself aims at promoting freedom of speech and democracy from within its infrastructure, where editors can report freely without being banned or restricted, and all positions are assigned through a fair voting process. “Every three months, there is a voting done on the chief editor position” Hamed added.
The idea started back in November 2012 when MDI organized a workshop that included 15 students from various Egyptian universities that aimed at orienting young students with inclusive journalism, the principals of critical non-partisan and unbiased reporting “Inclusive Parliament: Building citizens’ participation in the political process in Egypt through better media, parliamentary and civil society interaction”, funded by the UK Embassy in Cairo.
MDI continued their support and adoption of the project by organizing another workshop in December last year to improve the quality of articles produced and ensure that the students are on the right track of success.
As the website continues to grow and number of viewers expands, the students are now convinced that their webzine Ahna Keda could become an important platform for all of Egypt’s youth, regardless of their beliefs or affiliations in the near future.
