The cities of Qamishlo, Hewler, and Wuppertal in Germany, hosted the proceedings of the fifth conference of the Syrian Kurdish Journalists Network on Friday and Saturday, August 11th and 12th, 2023. The conference was attended physically by members of the three branches, in addition to the participation of other members residing in various countries around the world via the “Zoom” platform, and an external monitoring committee from international experts.
The conference opened its agenda with a speech by the Network’s Chair, colleague Salwa Suleiman, then the speeches of the Monitoring and Documentation of Violations Committee in the Network, the Communication and Public Relations Committee, the word of Finance and the Treasury were delivered, then a brief speech by the Monitoring Committee. After that, the conference work began according to the agenda proposed by the Preparatory and Elections Committee that supervises all of its work, which exerted great efforts over the months to ensure the success of the conference, including the campaign to raise awareness of the elections and the process of candidacy and voting, as well as all the associated guidelines through the creation of posters, videos, and online seminars.
Dialogues and discussions reflected the colleagues’ deep awareness of professional issues, preserving the vision and mission of the network, and the amendments that must be made to the electoral statute and electoral code of conduct, which were submitted for a vote later, the interventions also emphasized public freedoms, especially press freedoms, freedom of opinion and expression, and to defend Kurdish journalists against any violation committed against them, as well as fellow journalists from the rest of the components of the region who believe in Kurdish identity and culture.
The speeches also underscored the importance of dealing with the journalism profession by the local authorities in light of the frequent developments and updates, and the need to review the gaps in the media law of democratic self-administrations, and for necessary amendments to the executive regulations to give media practice a wider scope of responsibility, and broader prospects of press freedoms.
According to the agenda set by the preparatory and electoral committee, the voting process for the candidates of the network’s presidency and administrative body took place online through a dedicated link. This occurred after the conference’s conclusion, supervised by the elections committee and an external monitoring body acting as a neutral entity. This electoral process was described as “transparent, fair, and one of the most successful democratic elections.” After the deadline for objections and appeals, which lasted for three days, the electoral committee announced the final results as follows:
Elected as the president of the network: Colleague Ali Nimr.
The administrative body members:
Ferhad Ibrahim
Sidar Hussain
Himin Maree
Redwan Osman
Midya Musa
Novin Maree
Zeina Abdi
Munteser Mirzo
And so, the network concluded the work of its fifth conference, afirming its determination to continue addressing the raised issues in a manner that serves the profession of journalism and journalists according to the vision and mission of the network.
The Preparatory Committee of the Fifth General Conference of the Syrian Kurdish Journalists Network
Qamishlo, August 21, 2023
