Four young Egyptian journalists participated in a conference and study tour exploring inclusive journalism, between 24-27 February 2010, in London. The event, organised by the Media Diversity Institute, called “Inclusive Media for Inclusive Societies” was part of a two year programme to support a more responsible and inclusive media in Egypt, funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The opening session included a keynote speech by Lesley Abdela MBE, UK Woman Political Journalist of the year 2009, and a panel debate on how responsible and inclusive the British media is, particularly in relation to coverage of the Middle East & North Africa and the Muslim community in the UK. The panellists included Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi, Director of Arab Media Watch, Nick Carter from the Society of Editors, James Brandon, from the Quilliam Foundation, and Professor Robert Pinker from the Press Complaints Commission.
The 4-day event also included visits to media organisations such as the BBC Diversity Department, Channel 4 Television, and the Guardian newspaper, as well as leading NGOs such as Article 19 and Index on Censorship.
The purpose of the event was to expose the Egyptian journalists to some of the issues facing the UK media in relation to self-regulation, reporting diversity and journalistic ethics. They were awarded the trip to the UK in recognition of the excellent stories they produced on diversity issues, which were published in the Egyptian media, and resulted from a 10 day training course organised by the Media Diversity Institute.
Comments from the journalists on the event included:
“The meetings in the Guardian, the BBC and Channel 4 were all very influential as they helped us to learn how these important institutions deal with the issue of diversity.”
For more information contact the Media Diversity Institute at 
A film following the Egyptian journalists during their visit, including interviews with them, can be viewed below:
