BBC NewsMaker competition in Jordan: last days to enter

The competition the closing date for which is 31 March 2007, will choose two winners from Jordan. Their winning stories will be broadcast to the BBC's 42 million English-language radio audience around the world. They will also receive a laptop computer each while five runners up will be rewarded with MP3 players.

The competition, which is endorsed by Jordanian singer and actress Rania Kurdi, was launched earlier this month with a special debate in Amman. Hosted by BBC's special correspondent and presenter Lyse Doucet, the debate set the scene for the BBC NewsMaker competition, offering young English-speaking Jordanians a chance to express their views on how the use of the internet and online media affects their daily lives and keeps them connected with the rest of the world.

Among the panellists were Roba Al Assi, creator of the "andfaraway" blog in English, and Naseem Tarawnah, writer at Jordan Business online magazine. They emphasized the increasing importance of blogs and their part in shaping news by giving individuals the freedom to express their opinions freely and share them with the world.

"It was very encouraging to witness the involvement of Jordanians in the debate," said Roba. "Seeing the interactions taking place between the traditional media, the alternative media, and the audience was very exciting. There is a lot to be said about the effects of something as drastic in its importance as the internet in Jordan and in the Arab world, and this was a great debate that put some issues for thought on the table."

Another panellist, Dana Sayagh, head of news and current affairs at ATV, said: "I found the debate to be very instrumental in getting the idea behind NewsMaker across. In the age of citizen journalism, when participation is key in shaping the identity of nations, it's very important to involve the youth and encourage them to contribute in shaping what news is."

Panellist Daoud Kuttab, founder and director of the Arab world's first internet radio station Ammannet.net, said: "Giving people a voice has become a global demand. Citizens' media is quickly becoming a force to reckon with and the BBC has done well to give part of its airwaves to this new democratic phenomenon."

Online participation and comments from Jordan and the rest of the Arab world were being received online during the debate. BBC's Lyse Doucet said: "I found the Jordanian audience to be very intelligent, educated, very exposed and aware of worldwide issues. The participation was overwhelming and we expect a high number of entries to be submitted and we are looking forward to evaluating these entries and hearing the top stories broadcast."

"It was a real pleasure to be part of the BBC NewsMaker project and on the panel for the special debate," concluded Rania Kurdi. "It was very positive to see that young Jordanians have the passion to be more involved. However, they need the media to encourage them in the appropriate manner, as they concentrate far too much on regional news and less on local matters that affect us directly."

The BBC "NewsMaker" month-long competition is open to non-professional journalists aged 20-30 years old and aims to introduce younger audiences to the BBC's English news programmes. The competition will reward two winners with laptop computers and the chance to broadcast to 42 million radio listeners around the globe plus millions more online. Five additional runners up will be rewarded with MP3 players. The competition closing date is 31 March, 2007.

Entry forms for the BBC "NewsMaker" are available at a wide range of locations in Jordan including the British Council, Jordan University, Yarmouk University, Jordan University for science and Technology, Amman Private University, Amman University for graduate studies, Hashemite University. In Addition, entry forms can be found at popular cafes like; Blue Fig, Wild Jordan Centre, Books@Café and News café in Irbid, as well as at the Royal Automobile Club and the National Gallery of Fine Arts.

Jordanians interested in the BBC NewsMaker can receive further information and enter the competition online at bbcworldservice.com/newsmaker. The results will be announced on 23 April.