The EU-funded project ‘Building Sustainable and Professional Media’ has launched the Media Management E-school in Armenia, to enhance media management capacity with a focus on sustainability and resilience. The project is implemented by Deutsche Welle (DW) in partnership with BBC Media Action, Open Society Foundations – Armenia, Factor TV and Hetq Investigative Journalists. The school will be managed by the Media Initiatives Center (MIC). “The role and responsibilities of the media are so important to build a nation. Media educates and informs but sometimes can also distort or transform information. There are always risks of manipulation, fake news, and promoting hate speeches. A dynamic, plural society needs a free, independent, reliable and responsible media”, said the EU Ambassador to Armenia, Andrea Wiktorin.
On July 1, the Media Initiatives Center and the DW Akademie presented the Media Management E-School.
The EU Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Andrea Wiktorin, Managing Director of DW Akademie Carsten von Nahmen, representatives of local and international organizations, and media partners attended the event.
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“Hate speech and fake news spread so fast via social media, and there are a lot of people who don’t feel their responsibility for this issue. Thus, it is more important than ever, to have a transparent, reliable, investigative media that does fact-checking. And it was in this spirit that we started to procedure to have this very big program. I wish the E-school a lot of success,” the EU Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Andrea Wiktorin said in her welcome speech.
“The work we do on media viability, fact checking, trustworthy journalism is crucial. Therefore, we must unite those who believe in truth, who believe in the idea of a better outcome for society,” said the Managing Director of DW Akademie, Carsten von Nahmen.
As part of this project, by spring 2023 MIC will organize three E-Schools with 20 participants each. The trainers are local professionals, who have participated in DW Akademie’s ToTs. Along with regular sessions, the E-School will include extra-curriculum meetings with guest speakers from Armenia and overseas.
“Unfortunately, today all media managers are first of all crisis managers since they are not given that much time and chance to become development managers. Therefore, I am hopeful that this school give all the opportunities for our managers to become development managers,”said Nune Sargsyan, Managing Director of the Media Initiatives Center.
The first School has already launched. Its participants are media representatives from Yerevan and regions. The School aims to advance the participants’ knowledge and skills in the strategic management and business planning, marketing, project development, human resource, and financial management. These skills are essential not only for the successful planning of the business, but also for addressing the transformations in the digital environment.
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The E-School is part of the “European Media Facility in Armenia- Building Sustainable and Professional Media” project, which is funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).”
