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IAF Gummersbach Alumni Network
New Dimensions in International Journalism

2021-11-27-FGP-journalism-entrepreneurship_LHR with Urooj Sayyami
Urooj Sayyami moderating the FNF Pakistan Workshop on Entrepreneurial Journalism © Muhammad Anwar / Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Pakistan

As a female journalist in Pakistan, without a formal education in Mass Communication, I had to maneuver the media landscape all on my own. After almost 7 years in digital, print, and electronic media, my biggest achievement in journalism is resilience. I am extremely proud of the work I have done, the resilience with which I have carried on, and the unwavering support of my peers and mentors.

I was trained on the jobs that I did in a very traditional manner, but it wasn’t until I attended a workshop by FNF Pakistan on Entrepreneurial Journalism that I met the brilliant Urooj Sayyami (Twitter @UroojSayyami ); an institution all unto herself. During the two-day workshop she not only told the participants about the basic idea behind her module- Entrepreneurial Journalism- but also inspired and motivated young minds on how to chalk out new pathways in our careers.

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The workshop started on how media and journalism is drastically changing, but not in an awe-inspiring way so as not to alarm people. Ms. Sayyami talked about the importance of citizen journalism and the importance of it in promoting conversations that remain outside the purview of mainstream media; while at the same time moving from traditional and unsustainable media outlets. This was a refreshing experience for someone like me who is always yearning to learn something new, and is carving out her own territory in Pakistan’s media industry.

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Lets learn to earn online!

Urooj Sayyami, Pakistani Journalist, Anchor , Analyst

For me, the training sessions by Muhammad Anwar, Uzma Kardar, and the revered Majid Bukhari were greatly insightful. While MPA Uzma Kardar talked about freedom of expression and provision of basic human rights, she also highlighted the numerous bottlenecks in drafting legislation and implementation practices for most newly-proposed laws in Pakistan.

While on the other hand, Majid Bukhari gave quick tips on how journalists can work independently as content creators and capture their own audience in the digital realm. From this, one can gather that the workshop talked about numerous themes, but was primarily influential on imparting skills necessary for enabling journalists to work on their own.

I am extremely grateful to FNF for this wonderful opportunity and would love to be a part of more of such trainings and workshops in future.

The two-day workshop on "Journalism Entreprenurship", was organised with the Alumni Network of IAF Gummersbach from Pakistan (also known as FreedomGatePakistan-FGP)  as moderators and key note speakers and was conducted in Lahore in November 2021.