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16 Egyptian Journalists Coming October 20, 2003 The participants will spend three weeks in Bowling Green for an intensive training session that will include the publication of a daily, web-based newspaper. The Egyptians then travel in pairs to regional newspapers for a three-week internship with American professionals, including journalists at the Cincinnati Post, Birmingham Post-Herald, Columbus Dispatch, Evansville Courier & Press, Huntsville Times, Courier-Journal, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Knoxville News-Sentinel and Springfield News-Leader. The Egyptians will be back in Bowling Green for a final session called "Training of Trainers." The participants return to Egypt on Dec. 18. As part of the eight-week training, the Egyptians are paired with American hosts made up of WKU faculty, staff and friends. The goal is to provide support as the journalists experience life in America. Fifty-four candidates were interviewed in early September. Twenty-five were chosen to begin pre-departure training in Cairo. From this set, the 16 were selected to come for the first of three training sessions. The group consists of 14 women and two men. The average age is 32 and they range from two to 20 years experience. The journalists work at a variety of newspapers and magazines in Cairo. The project is a collaboration among Western Kentucky University's Public Broadcasting, Western's School of Journalism and Broadcasting, Al-Ahram Regional Press Institute, and Internews Networks. This project is funded by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development with support from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). McConnell recognized the collaborative possibilities of Western and Internews and was instrumental in bringing the partners together and in the continuing support for this program. For more information, contact Jerry Barnaby, 1-800-599-2424, or email jerry.barnaby@wku.edu. More information will also be found at www.wkyu.org.
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