Al-Quds Open University

Al-Quds Open University and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Hold a Symposium on the Occupational, Psychological and Social Pressures that Face Journalists


Published on: 11-10-2020

 

The Faculty of Social and Family Development at Al-Quds Open University and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate held, on Saturday 10-10-2020, a virtual scientific symposium entitled "Occupational, psychological and social pressures that the Palestinian journalists are exposed to and the mechanisms to confront them."

Participants in the symposium called on media and academic institutions to intensify courses and workshops to discuss the psychological and social pressures faced by Palestinian journalists, stressing the need to find programs to alleviate the problems and the occupational, social and psychological pressures that journalists are exposed to.The participants also called for strengthening the psychological well-being of journalists, especially when covering various field events.

The symposium recommended that media institutions create departments specialized in social and psychological service to take care of journalists, whether correspondents working in the field or those working in newsrooms, and to assume their responsibility to achieve social care for journalists, stressing the need to adopt laws and regulations that guarantee occupational, psychological and social protection for journalists at different levels.

Prof. Younes Amr, president of QOU, emphasized that all institutions, whether governmental or otherwise, must support journalists to maintain their efforts to develop the Palestinian media sector and enable them to fulfill their mission.

Dr. Eng. Islam Amr highlighted the interventions  in journalistic work, especially with regard to the need to provide professional support for journalists, and the laws regulating the profession, pointing to the importance of journalism in playing several roles, including: educating the people, measuring public opinion and influence, and undertaking social responsibility in the issue of civil peace, and achieving social development .

He indicated that there are many obstacles that the Palestinian journalist faces, including professional and societal, and other political obstacles related to freedoms, and technical, psychological and personal obstacles. He also stressed the necessity to limit the journalistic work to the transfer and analysis of information and not to confuse this role with partisan and union roles.

Prof. Abu Bakr, the Head of the Journalists Syndicate, talked about the obstacles and concerns that burden journalists putting them under psychological, social and professional pressures, added to their low salaries and the absence of regulatory systems that allow them to move according to international standards.

Abu Bakr stressed the need to draw up laws to protect journalists and provide them with job security, calling to share responsibility to protect journalists at the psychological, social and professional levels.