Danish mission arrives to helpBuilding a new media [Archives:2004/794/Front Page]

Propents are hoping it's the first indication that a new, stronger and more liberated media is coming to Yemen.
A Danish Joint Preparatory Mission concerned with the formulation Joint Yemen Media Development Program arrived in Sana'a Saturday.
The team which is composed of five media experts is to follow up the previous mission that visited Yemen last June and came out with the set-up of seven working groups including Access to information; freedom of the media; strengthening the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS); professional training of journalists; upgrading of schools of journalism; supporting private publishers; and Gender (as a cross cutting issue).
Yemen recently slipped to 135 out of 167 countries in a global ranking of press freedom.
In cooperation with the working groups and other stakeholders, also in the provinces, the preparatory mission is to develop a strategic framework for the program, including indicative priorities for the different components and a six- month start-up phase of a Joint Yemen Media Development Programme with an action plan for specific pilot or short-term projects and activities.
It is meting also through consultation to establish strategic objectives as well as organisational and operational modalities for donor co-operation on a Joint Yemen Media Development Program. Specific pilot or short-term projects and activities are to be developed.
The team is to pay a visit to Aden and Taiz so as to hold meetings with as many media stakeholders as possible for the purpose of reaching goals of the program.
A joint roundtable of the working groups and the donors is to be held next Dec. 6, where the working groups are to present their findings to the donors.
The event will be attended by government and ministries, international organisations and donors.
The Danish aim that the program will become an open-ended comprehensive 5-10-year program having the support of all donors. It will have a six month start-up phase starting in January 2005.
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