The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Opens an Office
in Bahrain
The Bahraini Journalists Association and the International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) signed an agreement at the beginning of last
February in order to set up a regional office for the IFJ in Bahrain.
Mr. Isa Al Shayji signed the agreement on behalf of the Bahraini
Journalists Association, and Mr. Eden White represented the IFJ.
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| Mr. Isa Al Shayji |
According to this agreement, the International Union will take Bahrain
as its regional centre and its activities are expected to cover
all Arab countries as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The
office will be open next April. The Office will work professionally
to promote and support the culture of freedom and human solidarity
in the media by supporting the initiatives of professional ethics,
and work to enhance solidarity among the journalistic organizations
to defend professionalism, and to remove obstacles to the freedom
of the press, and to encourage dialogue between media organizations
and civil society organizations and political parties.
Al Shayji considered the choice of Bahrain as a regional centre
for the IFJ as indicative of its appreciation of the country's atmosphere
of freedom and democracy, in addition to the development of its
media and civil movement. He regarded this step as an asset to the
democratic reform project and to the well established Bahraini media.
It is also noteworthy, that the IFJ, which is based in Brussels,
is the largest organization for journalists in the world, and currently
has almost 600 thousand members from more than one hundred countries.
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