USAID’s Jordan Media Strengthening Programme (IREX) will provide technical assistance to Yarmouk University for the development of a media law course to be offered to students starting in the next academic year.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed on Sunday, the programme will also offer scholarships and fellowships for Yarmouk University professors involved in the development of the media law syllabus, according to a statement released by IREX.
Yarmouk University academic staff will attend media law courses and meet with colleagues at US and European universities, sharing knowledge about developments in media law and participating in seminars.
“We particularly value the opportunity offered to our law faculty to discuss courses, materials and teaching approaches with media law professors in the US and Europe,” said Yarmouk University President Mohammad Abu Gdais. Members of the university’s law faculty will visit the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Cardozo Law School in New York, and Oxford University in the UK, according to the statement.
George Karaa, acting democracy and governance team leader at USAID/Jordan, said the agreement provides for translation of teaching materials that can be used in the new media law course, along with support to Yarmouk University, which under this plan will organise media law conferences.
USAID is also committed to help in other areas, such as upgrading of the computer lab at Yarmouk’s law faculty.
Its dean, Ayman Masadeh, said the faculty will cooperate with IREX in order to improve the faculty members’ teaching skills on media law and students’ awareness of media legislation through moot courts and legal essays competitions.
“The objective is to help Jordan train a new generation of lawyers, ready and able to deal with a wide range of media-related issues – ensuring that the country can offer a range of effective legal services so as to attract media companies to establish new operations in the country. That means there needs to be an increasing number of specialist lawyers who have the right level of training and experience to offer sound advice to journalists, media owners and investors, if the Kingdom’s media market is to see real growth,” IREX chief of party, Sam Compton, said.
Developing media law training at both university and professional levels, and helping the emergence of a community of Jordanian media law experts are among the main objectives of the programme. In addition to today’s memorandum of understanding with Yarmouk University, the Jordan Media Strengthening Programme has an ongoing agreement with Israa Private University for the development of media law courses and media law-related activities.
USAID launched its Jordan media programme in the summer of 2006, in support of the Kingdom’s drive to liberalise the sector, according to the statement.
The programme, which seeks to help raise journalistic standards and enhance media independence and sustainability, is working with local universities to upgrade journalism education with local partners to establish independent community media, with media outlets to train mid-career journalists, and with NGOs to support new, innovative media projects.
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