Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists to study problems of national minorities in Georgia

Journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia will discuss the problems of ethnic minorities – the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis – in Georgia's districts of Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Djavakheti. The event will be held from July 13 to July 15 as a part of the project "Neighbours", reported the press service of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).

During their visit to Georgia the journalists will take part in the courses, meet local government officials, analysts, experts, representatives of NGOs dealing with ethnic and religious minorities. The journalists will also prepare joint articles which will be published in their media and joint media products of IWPR.

The very project "Neighbours" represents a platform for Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists, which promotes the development of relations between the two conflicting parties, providing them with relevant information and opportunities for cooperation. The project aim is to remove communication barriers, provide the region with common information space for elimination of disagreements and prejudices.

The project is being realised within the IWPR programme "Bridge Construction/Potential Strengthening" and is being implemented in Armenia with the assistance of the US Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the agency "News-Armenia" reports.

30 young journalists from Armenia and Azerbaijan have already participated in the courses of the Institute for War and Peace on the following topics: blogging, international criteria of journalism, coverage of conflicts, human rights. By joint efforts the young journalists from Armenia and Azerbaijan in accordance with high criteria of objectivity and actuality published 12 supplements to IWPR and articles in the leading Armenian and Azerbaijani newspapers with circulation up to 10,000 copies, the "GHN" notes.