TIRANA, JULY 9, 2012     Twenty-one journalists were recognized today as the graduates of the “Law School for Journalists” supported through a grant from the USAID’s Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project (JuST) to the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS).    As full-time journalists, these graduates will be more active in covering issues impacting Albania's justice sector.

Progam participants were selected from a pool of interested candidates with an eye to geographical representation as well as experience and media type balance. They come from Tirana, Korça, Gjirokastra, Elbasan and Shkodra, and work in local and national media, print and broadcast, such as: Top-Channel, Vizion Plus, ABC News, News24, TVSH, +2Radio, Shqip Newspaper, Standard, Shekulli Newspaper, Mapo Newspaper, Panorama Newspaper, TV Ora Gjiorokastra, Gazeta Shqiptare, ATSH Shkodra, TiranaTimes, ATSH Korça, Albanian Screen, among others.  More than one-third of the graduates of the program are women.

The Law School for Journalists conducted ten training sessions between May 4 and July 6, 2012.  It included subjects related to the justice system, from the basics, such as an introduction to the justice system, the principles of the Albanian procedural law, to more specific topics such as freedom of information and the right of privacy in trials, as well as case studies. The last session was a field trip to one of the courts in Tirana, where the participants were able to attend a court session and meet with lawyers and judges.

USAID is committed to help improve the understanding and coverage of the justice sector by the media in Albania in recognition of the essential watchdog role that it plays to promote more transparency, and accountability in this field. The USAID’s five-year Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening project (JuST), which began in October 2010, aims to increase court transparency, fairness and efficiency; bolster watchdog and anticorruption roles of civil society organizations and media; and strengthen the legal profession and legal education in Albania.

For more information on the program, please contact:

AIIS: mllubani@aiis-albania.org; Tel. (4) 2248853; Cel. 0673217966
USAID JuST: rmullahi@ajssp.org.al; Tel: (04) 22 77 923; Cel: 0672007746