Voices of Iraq, on , is supported by The Reuters Foundation, a charitable trust specialising in journalism training, along with the United Nations Development Programme and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation.
The independent service will provide breaking news to local, regional and international media, with journalists reporting from each of the 18 governed regions in Iraq, representing the events affecting local communities across the country.
Voices of Iraq started as a news-exchange site where Iraqi stringers could publish and share updates, and currently publishes more than 600 news items a month, with reports contributed from individuals and key independent newspapers.
Paolo Lembo, UNDP-Iraq's director, said: "This project has brought momentum and a significant impulse to the creation of a free and reliable Iraqi media, and thus becomes part of the foundation for democratic progress. The establishment of an independent news agency represents an important step towards the strengthening of professional journalism in Iraq and an incomparable means to facilitate social dialogue and promote democracy."
Reuters Foundation has provided journalism training to more than 50 Iraqi journalists contributing to Voices of Iraq in workshops held in Amman, London and Cairo. Similar training will be provided for journalists recruited to the new agency.
Geert Linnebank, Reuters editor-in-chief, said, "This new agency, the first of its kind in Iraq's history, will have a profound effect on how this country's story is told. Staffed and run by local journalists reporting on their own people and governments, I am sure it will become an indispensable source, which will provide a much fuller picture than we have today of the key issues and events really driving this country's development."
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