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	The Pen is still mightier than the Sword by Nabila Khouri Search for Common Ground   Throughout history, journalists and the media have often been regarded as both heroes and villains. They have been the watchdogs of political power. They have given a voice to the voiceless. They have also been used to trample the rights of others, and support the agendas of dictators and tyrants.   New technologies have potentially turned anyone who has access to the Internet into a reporter, shattering the filter between the news and the audience. Citizen journalism may well be one of the greatest revolutions in the fields of information and communication.   In Nepal, people are documenting the horrifying effects of the recent earthquake. The images they are producing and the stories they are telling are helping attract donors and volunteers from all over the world. Seven thousand miles away, in Baltimore, Maryland, the media is being faced with a crucial task—choosing what to focus on and in doing so, shaping public opinion.   As the way we communicate rapidly evolves, preserving the freedom of the press – the great privilege of being able to express discontent with government, society and injustice – remains a fundamental element of peace. It also bestows upon journalists an immense responsibility. We incorporate in our work the use of digital technology, multimedia and journalism to empower ordinary citizens and media professionals alike to be responsible storytellers. Stimulating curiosity and active learning, we encourage them to listen to every side of every story.   In the MENA region, we have seen how powerful media is in our work to inspire women and children to be active leaders for coexistence in their communities.   In Lebanon and Morocco, our project Everyone Gains aims to enhance the condition of women in two ways: by supporting civil society organizations to devise a campaign for women’s economic empowerment, and by sensitizing the media to issues concerning women’s inequality. Earlier this year, we organized workshops to train Lebanese and Moroccan media professionals on how to talk about women’s rights objectively and fairly.   In Tunisia, we’ve been working with youth, who are already acting as amateur reporters through social media, to encourage responsible reporting. One Step Forward, a non-profit we founded in Tunis, was awarded a small grant to establish an online platform led by young journalists to discuss local events. The association’s members have already participated in two rounds of training with established Tunisian journalist Hedi Yahmad, with a third in the making.   The success of our programs on journalism is not limited to the Middle East and North Africa. In Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan and Rwanda we’ve adopted a number of innovative media strategies to broaden our audiences and participants.   Sri Lanka is home to many cultures, traditions and languages. The country is still recovering from a 26-year civil war that left it economically and socially torn. Our recent initiative, Eastern Voices, strengthens the capacity of journalists from the Trincomalee district to highlight human rights issues and inequality, without ethnic biases that can lead to further tension.   Trincomalee is one of the most diverse districts in the country, but years of violence have divided its residents.We brought together 25 journalists with different levels of experience for a series of trainings, including conflict sensitive reporting, IT skills and photojournalism. Over 60 percent of the participants had never received formal training, even though they were already working in media.   “Before the training I never covered issues and problems of the Tamil and Muslim communities. Everyone focused only on their community. So, all three groups would produce one-sided articles. The chance we were given to work as mixed teams helped us realize how useful it is to share information with each other and work as a collective,” said Lakmal Baduge, a novice journalist.   The percentage of trainees that defined themselves “confident” in reporting on sensitive topics rose from 5 percent at the start of the training to 65 percent toward the end.   Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has been moving towards stability despite economic struggles and political divides. In recent years, it has faced another major issue—the recruitment of youth into violent extremist groups. The project Strengthening Capacity to Prevent Violent Religious Extremism is using media to influence the debate around radicalization and recruitment in the country.   We organized a series of press-cafés in the past months in Bishkek and Osh, bringing together 6 government officials, 12 experts and religious leaders, and more than 30 journalists, including representatives from newspapers, radio outlets, web news agencies and others.   “One of the issues discussed recently was around freedom of press and fight against extremism, after one of the news sites posted an ISIS video involving children,” said Keneshbek Sainazarov, our Kyrgyzstan Country Director. Though the authorities shut down the website, there is still a question of how controlled freedom of the press should be when radical groups like ISIS are present.   “Journalists and experts in the areas of extremism and radicalization have discussed fundamental issues around freedom of press, indirect advertisement, promotion of extremism, and using force to prevent the promotion of violent messages into mass media,” he said. Sainazarov has recently been awarded the Jubilee Medal by the government of Kyrgyzstan for his contributions to national efforts to counter violent extremism.   In many areas of Africa, radio is the most widespread medium – an incredibly useful tool to communicate with rural and urban audiences alike. Our multilingual radio program in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Génération Grands Lacs (GGL), manages to reach tens of thousands— if not millions— of listeners in the region.   The project specifically targets the quickly growing youth demographic, fostering camaraderie and understanding across borders. Audiences use texts, phone calls, email and social media to contribute to GGL’s programming, engaging in informal citizen journalism in the process. An active Facebook page accompanies the radio show, where discussion topics build anticipation for the upcoming broadcast.   Our approaches differ from region to region, and so do our target audiences. But the goal we have in mind is the same – empowering regular citizens to become unbiased grassroots journalists, and fostering the skills of media professionals to pursue fairness and independence in their reporting. History teaches us that only when all voices are given a platform, peace is truly possible. When people are armed with enough knowledge to understand both sides of a conflict, they can make decisions that are supported by facts, rather than opinions.   * Nabila Khouri is a communications Intern at Search for Common Ground. She recently graduated from the University of Richmond where she studied journalism.   http://www.sfcg.org/category/blog/ http://www.sfcg.org/our-media/ Visit the related web page
	Banks and Dirty Money by Global Witness   Banks and Dirty Money - How the financial system enables state looting at a devastating human cost.   Corruption is a major problem which has a devastating human cost. In poor countries it kills people and traps millions more in poverty. It also undermines the global economy and threatens national security, affecting all countries.   The largely hidden truth is that banks play an integral role in enabling this. Corrupt officials need somewhere to hide stolen money. Yet while laws and regulations apply in most countries which require banks to do a range of checks to detect the proceeds of the corruption, many banks fail to uphold them. As result they are leaving the door wide open for corrupt people to launder their funds.   Our report Banks and Dirty Money reveals the skewed incentives which lie at the root of this problem. It shows that the best solution is for senior executives to be held personally responsible when banks break the rules, and that without this banks will continue to enable corruption and the harm that results.   * Access the report via the link below. Visit the related web page
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