Media

Support for Independent Media and Citizenship Journalism: Wadi has been committed to the concept of ‘Citizen Journalism’ for the past 15 years, back then the concept was totally new in Northern Iraq, but ever since we were invested in creating real spaces for community discussion and fostering independent media.

Wadi continues to invest in training, empowering and supporting women citizen journalists.

Women are not usually visible or active in public life, and the impact of hearing women’s voices on the radio, and seeing their broadcast live through social media is incredibly important in giving a voice to women’s experiences. Being a woman citizen journalist is a political act that furthers the advocacy of women’s rights, and their right to public life.

Radio Dangue Nwe, A Voice for Women, Youth and Refugees:

These efforts have not gone unnoticed, on November 1st, 2021 a member our partners NWE was awarded third place in the Iraqi Women’s prize by Internews Organization for the best national coverage for women issues in Iraq.

And in February 2016 the Radio started a new program ‘Refugee for Refugee Radio’ this all women radio program brought together Syrian refugees and IDPs from central Iraq to talk about issues that face refugees, face women, and work on promoting peaceful coexistence between different groups. This groundbreaking program received international media attention and in October 2016 was awarded with the Raif Badawi Prize for ourageous Journalism.

“This is Dange Nwe Radio, refugee-to-refugee segment, from 8am to 12 noon, broadcast in Kurmanji and Arabic,” a female broadcaster announces in a southern Iraqi accent. The early-morning programme includes Kurdish poetry, classic love songs by a Christian Lebanese singer, and pop music more familiar to listeners in Baghdad than in northern Iraq.

The new refugee radio programme on Dange Nwe (New Voice) Radio is staffed exclusively by Syrian and Iraqi women displaced by the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and the war in Syria.

“All the programmes we air – whether they are news, politics, health, or music – have an audience within the refugee community,” Hevy Izat Ahmed, who is originally from Kobane, told Al Jazeera. “We know what news refugees need to hear, about aid deliveries, or about what’s happening at home.” (Al Jazeera: Iraq refugee radio programme gains momentum)

Kirkuk Now: Unbiased News from the Disputed Territories in Iraq:

Since 2016 Wadi has been media-partners with the news portal ‘KirkukNow’. The goal of KirkukNow is the promotion of an independent and democratic public sphere. This cooperation is part of our support of different media projects committing to the concept of ‘citizen journalism’.

In a country where the press freedom is under pressure, KirkukNow has renewed its focus on providing independent and reliable information to citizens of all the disputed territories. KirkukNow posts articles relevant to the disputed territories in the three main languages of the region: Kurdish, Turkmen and Arabic.

Combining this inclusive approach with an active social media presence, on both Facebook and Twitter, KirkukNow reaches a broader audience.

Wadi continues to actively support independent journalism, citizenship journalism, building spaces for open and democratic discussion, and greater space for women in public and civic life.

The Goals and Mission of Kirkuk Now in their own words:

KirkukNow is an Independent electronic news website publishes stories and events taking place within or relevant to Iraq’s disputed territories, as defined in the Iraqi constitution, with the aim of promoting coexistence in those areas and providing easy access to information.

In April 2011, http://www.kirkuknow.com was launched as an online news agency, the only independent media outlet that covers developments throughout the disputed territories in Iraq in the three main languages of these areas – Arabic, Kurdish and Turkmen- as well as in English.

The goal of the website is to publish news for all the people in Kirkuk and for everyone who is interested in unbiased news and information about the disputed territories and since they are disputed areas between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government and it is home for Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Chaldean Assyrians, Sunni, Shia, Christians and other minorities. Any event these areas as a disputed area will both positively or negatively affect the rest of the country, so an independent, unbiased media will asset the process of nation building, stability and coexistence among the different ethnic groups in these areas.