Newsletter
I'lam, Media Center for ArabPalestinians in Israel
an outcome of thefunction and therole of the mediaand not theopposite. Weoppose dogmaticadherence tocertain definitionsof professionalnorms. Definitionsshould not betaken for granted.After all, theimpact of professionalnorms is part of the ethical andsocialresponsibility of the media.-Haneen Zoubi,General Director
About I’LAM…
I’LAM, Media Center for ArabPalestinians in Israel is a unique civilsociety initiative dedicated to analyzeand strengthen the relationshipbetween media and democracy inIsrael. We reach this by empoweringthe Arab media landscape and bydemocratizing Israeli media policiesand practices, influencing Israelimedia institutions to adopt moreprofessional and unbiased standardsin their coverage of Arab citizens of Israel.With its commitment to mediademocracy, expertise,professionalism, and high level of staff motivation, I’LAM plays a role ininvigorating civil society andpromoting democracy and humanrights within the Arab society inIsrael, the Israeli society, and theIsraeli political system through itsmedia institutions.I’LAM was founded in 2000 by agroup of Arab journalists, andacademics. The events of October2000 shaped the early work of theorganization, as it sought todocument the massive violence usedagainst Arab demonstrators and therole of the media in this period. Thetragic outcome: Thirteen citizenswere killed and hundreds injured. TheIsraeli media for its part legitimized,to a large extent, such use of violence.I’LAM has two major programs: The
“Empowerment Program”
aims tostrengthen the commitment of Arab mediainstitutions to democratic values and toincrease the capacity and the professionalismof Arab journalists, media practitioners, andmedia institutions. An important goal of thisprogram is to encourage and support Arab journalists in their attempt to organizethemselves. In addition, I’LAM offers mediatraining and workshops to different targetgroups such as Arab journalists, mediateachers and students, Arab NGOs and localmunicipalities, civil society actors, andcommunity members. Our Production Centeroffers a unique opportunity to the Arab societyin Israel to build its skills and to acquirepractical experience with audiovisualequipment. The
“Media Rights Program”
focuses onIsraeli media coverage, laws and regulationsconducting media monitoring, analysis andadvancing recommendations to democratizethe media landscape and media policies inIsrael, to reach fair allocation of resources, andto increase the participation of Arabprofessionals, media people, and scholars indecision making agencies. In addition, weencourage the Israeli media to move beyondechoing the government’s standpoint and toimprove the quality of the Israeli mediacoverage. Together with other mediaorganizations and journalists from the Hebrewmedia, I’LAM aims to bring about a sustainableand holistic improvement of the Israeli mediasystem.
I'lam's Media Project Accepted UnderEU Human Rights Program
The I’LAM Media Center wasrecently awarded funding fromthe European Initiative forDemocracy and Human Rights. The funds will support I’lam's new“Responsible and ProfessionalMedia” program which aims todevelop local Arab media,enhance the quality andcoverage of human rights, andbring attention to the condition of the Arab minority in Israel.Moreover, the project aims toimprove the dissemination of information and knowledge abouthuman rights and to empowerthe Arab society in itsrelationship with the media. Theproject adopts a holisticapproach, addressing the issue of responsible media at the local,national and political levels.Activities include:2
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