Centre to Support Press Freedom in Yemen Launched

LONDON, December 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

London charity of Arab philanthropist H.E. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber has established an independent media training institute ahead of Yemen elections in 2014

A launch event to mark the opening of a training institute to promote free and non-partisan press reporting in Yemen was held at 61 Whitehall. The event was hosted by philanthropist His Excellency, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, who recognises the need to support independent training to encourage high standards of reporting in the run up to the adoption of the new constitution and next year's Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Yemen.

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Joining leading politicians to welcome the opening of the centre were members of the Institute's board of advisers, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Tawakkol Karman and former US Presidential adviser, Dalia Mogahed.

For the past two decades, the MBI Al Jaber Foundation has supported a significant number of projects in the UK and around the world relating to education, free media and good governance, along with other activities that serve to build bridges between the West and the Arab world.

The MBI Al Jaber Media Institute in Yemen is an independent, privately funded institution which will train journalists, students, teachers and trainers and citizens in all aspects of media. It will bring attention to the cause of journalists in Yemen, where in the past they have faced the threat of violence or imprisonment.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber commented: "A free press is an essential element of a free society. Since the Arab Spring, many of those green shoots have withered, but in countries such as Yemen there is real hope for progress. The opening of the MBI Al Jaber Media Institute will help citizens both locally and globally act as witnesses to the situation on the ground, and guide next year's crucial elections to a fair and positive outcome."

The MBI Al Jaber Media Institute will not be dependent on project or governmental agency funding, and will promote free and non-partisan press reporting in the region.

Tawakkol Karman added: "I am glad for the opening of the MBI Al Jaber Institute. There is an urgent need for such institutions in Yemen. It will play an important role in the nurturing, training and preparing of real journalists for the real world. I am proud of Sheikh Mohamed for his role in supporting the freedom of the press, education and freedom of expression."

Contact: Heather Astbury
Mob: +44-(0)7876-885-120
Email: [email protected]

Video: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64167-centre-to-support-press-freedom-in-yemen

SOURCE MBI Al Jaber Foundation