UNESCO creates wiki on journalism curricula

Following the publication of the Model Curricula for Journalism Education last year, UNESCO has created an interactive wiki platform to adapt it to teaching journalism in Arabic and French. Wiki on the Journalism Education Curricula gives access to the main courses proposed in the Curricula, accompanied by books and reference texts. The wiki visitors have the possibility to suggest books (preferably with online references) in order to develop and adapt existing teaching programmes. The platform keeps them up to date on current events, recent changes and suggestions of reference texts.

This wiki project is a result of the Consultation Meeting on Capacity Building for Potential Centres of Excellence in Journalism Training in Africa, which took place at Rhodes University, Grahamstown (South Africa) from 17 to 18 March 2008. It enabled potential centres of excellence and stakeholders to explore the ways in which journalism training in Africa can be enhanced. Participants of the meeting launched a long term initiative towards quality capacity-building through networking, partnerships, twinning arrangements and knowledge exchange on a regional and international level.

UNESCO’s Model Curricula for Journalism Education, which highlights the connection between democracy and journalism, is a result of long work to create quality training programmes in the countries where it is important to promote freedom of expression and press freedom. The Curricula is a generic model that can be adapted according to each country’s specific needs, taking into account social, economic, political and cultural contexts of developing countries and emerging democracies.

The Curricula propose 17 courses written by media professionals who have worked in countries in transition. They form a complete and homogeneous teaching programme enabling students to understand and to master essential tools for quality journalism. The Curricula offer a set of competencies, course listings and descriptions for bachelor’s, master’s and diploma programmes. However, they are not meant to be prescriptive and should be considered as models that need to be adapted by journalism educators to meet local needs and resources.

The UNESCO Curricula for Journalism Education are being translated into Arabic, French, Spanish and Russian.

http://www.unesco-ci.org/wikiprojects/jec/index.php/Main_Page