Jordan Times’ reporter wins JMI award

AMMAN — The Jordan Times' reporter (JT) Muath Freij on Thursday won a Jordan Media Institute (JMI) award on Child Rights for his report titled: "Temporary schools for a hopefully temporary situation: Young Syrian refugees find the right people to help them keep dreaming".

Freij, who has been with JT for eight years, was among three winners in the 2015 Child Rights Media Award dubbed "Learning for All", along with Barakat Zyoud from the Jordan News Agency, Petra, and Al Ghad's Nadine Nimri, according to a JMI statement, which added that 22 reports applied for the award.

The JT reporter and photojournalist previously won several photography prizes.  

The award, launched by the JMI in cooperation with UNICEF and the EU, aimed at enhancing the contributions of the media sector in raising the awareness of comprehensive and qualitative education for all children, especially among the most vulnerable, due to regional conditions which affected millions of children. 

JMI’s Dean Bassem Tweisi said the award was the second to be launched by the institute within its strategy to improve Jordanian journalists' performance and the quality of media productions, the statement added.

“The institute is aware of the need to create a general view and a community agreement on reforming education, especially during the childhood phase”, Tweisi added.

On the sidelines of the award ceremony, UNICEF representative and EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana handed certificates and awards for refugee camps children who participated in a photo programme which aimed at shedding light on children’s lives in host communities and refugee camps.

Around 25 children took part in the programme, which was held under the supervision of a professional photographer, and the photos were published in a booklet that was distributed locally and for relevant institutions, in addition to publishing the photos in the EU headquarters in Brussels.