NEWSLETTER -- summer 2000

Booklet published -- we have now produced the short, practical handbook on independent and investigative journalism. Copies are available for free from the Jemstone offices in Jordan and the UK but we do need contributions to cover any postage costs. It can also be accessed on our web-site at www.jemstone.net/handbook/booklet.html We have begun work on an Arabic version which we hope will be available by the autumn.

Med Media is dead -- official. The European Commission in Brussels has formally decided not to relaunch the old Med Media programme. Officials tell us they�re working on a replacement but that it will be at least a year before it begins.

Jemstone carries on -- as a media and development consultancy, operating in the MENA region, Europe and beyond and we have already secured contracts from the Dutch and British governments for projects in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen. We will continue developing the Jemstone Media Network in line with the wishes of our many partners.

Jemstone Journa-links -- key internet hyper-links designed by journalists for journalists. To support Euro-Med media, we have put together hundreds of sites that you might find useful in researching and covering stories -- www.jemstone.net/linking/home.htm It is like a huge collection of categorised �bookmarks� specifically designed for Euro-Med media. Please contact brenda@jemstone.net if you have additional sites, amendments or comments.

Upcoming autumn events -- URGENT apply now:

** Following our workshop on independent journalism and investigative techniques, held in Jordan at the end of 1999, we are running similar workshops in Yemen, Egypt and the Palestinian Territories. These four-day events, funded by the Dutch Minister of Development and Cooperation, are for experienced, committed journalists who want to improve their skills and who believe that active, questioning media are important for development. We have places for about 15 participants at each workshop, which will be in Arabic and English, with ad hoc translation. We hope to bring some journalists from other countries to each workshop. Apply now by fax or e-mail to Jemstone.

** Our sister project in the Maghreb, Remfoc, has a one-week course in Marseilles for younger journalists -- funded by the French government. They will take two French-speaking participants each from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus and Turkey, working in any branch of the media. Apply now to Bedrem@aol.com

Please note: we have been having technical problems with some of our e-mail addresses -- we can also be reached on: jemstone@go.com.jo for tudor, jemstone@nets.com.jo for lara, brenda.dejager@wxs.nl for brenda.

* If anyone kept cuttings of any articles relating to the recent Mediterranean Development Forum in Cairo, MDF3, we would be most grateful to receive copies.

* We would like to thank Royal Jordanian�s London office for supporting us.

* The DFID-funded development web-site in Jordan is under final testing and can be accessed at: www.jordandevnet.org.