IWPR’s flagship journalism training programme in Libya’s Tripoli university has gone on to become an integral part of the country’s invigorated media scene, with more than 4,000 students graduating from its unique hands-on curriculum.
MediaLab co-founder and former director Dr Khaled Gulam described its launch in March 2014 as “a turning point in the history of media and media training in Libya”.
Gulam, now executive director of the Libyan national broadcaster Al Wataniya, recalled how staff and students alike refused to be deterred by the fresh outbreak of violence that year that turned into another fully-fledged civil war.
“We were not going to give up,” he continued. “I have to admit, though, that the level of our success was way bigger than we had anticipated.”