The inaugural ceremony of IPR’s three months certificate Course on Development Journalism was held at the Department of Journalism and Communication (JMC), University of Peshawar. The Independent Project Reporting (IPR) is an integral part of the FATA Development Programme implemented by the FATA Secretariat and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ, funded by the German government. The University of Peshawar with its JMC is an important partner of the Programme from the very beginning in 2010. This course focuses on the applied side of journalism. The students achieving a better understanding on the work of development cooperation and promotes responsible journalism.
Vice Chancellor UoP Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan was the Chief Guest of the day. DG Projects FATA Secretariat Mazhar Ali Shah, Stefan Schmid, Head of FATA Development Program, Dean Faculty of Management and Information Sciences Prof. Dr. Abdul Qayyum, Chairman Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Prof. Dr Shah Jehan Syed were also present.
The department has been imparting trainings for capacity building of the journalists for the last sixteen years, said chairman Department of JMC in his opening remarks.
He added the Independent Project Reporting program started in January 2010 with the support of GIZ to provide hands on experience to media practitioners of KP and FATA. About the certificate course on development journalism he said that the program is initiated with the aim of filling the gap between theory and practical.
Skill is to me equally important than a degree, said Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan. This is because the international companies and enterprises are on the outlook for skilled professionals in the globalised world, he added.
FATA is an area of concern for me as a Pashtun, head of this institution and being an inhabitant of this area he said. It’s high time we and the international donors pool our resources together and formulate a long term strategy for the uplift of the underprivileged people of FATA, he opined.
Dr. Jan assured the JMC students of extending all possible support to them, as they stand as the major stakeholders of University of Peshawar. You must put your efforts in the right direction and identify your national and global responsibilities, he said.
