Tafael

In 2015 and 2016, the ILYM project brought together journalists from Iraq, Libya and Yemen to debate on the role played by the media in crisis-stricken countries. In 2018, the Tasalah (meaning 'reconciliation' in Arabic) project, which focused entirely on Iraq, enhanced the skills of Iraqi journalists and made them more aware of the issues relating to social cohesion. The 'Mosul Talks' workshops allowed them to exchange their thoughts and opinions about the numerous challenges of reconciliation.

The Tafael project ('Tafael' being an Arabic expression meaning 'to go forwards with optimism') follows in the footsteps of these two projects. It draws on the conclusions reached in the Mosul Talks workshops, which called on local media outlets to perform more effectively their assignment of educating and informing their audiences, and to become more involved in the reconstruction process. It focuses on the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq, where the occupation by Islamic State (IS) and the resulting battles had a dramatic impact on the social fabric (and also divided entire communities).

Today, local media outlets in the region are regarded with a sense of mistrust, and so the goals of the Tafael project are to make young Iraqi journalists more aware of the issues of social cohesion and to train them to present this subject in a positive light. By building on these initiatives, the project aims to provide the residents of the Nineveh Governorate with better access to relevant information, which will meet their expectations and forge stronger links within communities.