In cooperation with Saudi Journalists Association (SJA), the US Embassy in Riyadh organized a four-day training workshop for Saudi female journalists, on April 22-25 in Riyadh and Jeddah. The training workshops addressed several aspects of journalism, including investigative journalism, multi-media, digital journalism, and journalism ethics. Close to 100 journalists took part in the workshops.
Mofid Deak, press attaché at the US Embassy in Riyadh thanked SJA for its cooperation with the embassy to make this training a success, promising to do more of these in the future. “This course is the result of a collaborative effort to benefit Saudi female journalists,” said Deak. “I am particularly pleased to partner with SJA to launch this hands-on training effort aimed at upping the performance of Saudi female journalists and sharpening their professional skills and capabilities to help them carve out their rightful place in the Saudi press and media scene, as more and more women are taking up leadership positions in Saudi press organizations.”
Abdullah Al-Gahlan, secretary general of the SJA, said, “This course is one of many qualitative training workshops we offer to journalists in cooperation with the US Embassy. It is the first course exclusively for female journalists, but we will do more of these for both genders.”
Nawal R. Al-Rashed, deputy managing editor at Al-Riyadh newspaper, who attended the training in Riyadh, praised the session, quoting other participants as expressing interest in having more of these workshops. “Our female journalists loved it, especially that it was done directly in Arabic by a professional trainer and a practicing journalist. They certainly want more of these.”