Most of us spend more than half our waking hours in the workplace, yet media devote little coverage to such an important part of our lives. If you would like to learn how to cover labor unions and strikes, or safety issues in the workplace, then this course is for you. The Arabic-language course, organized by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), will run from July 9 until August 20. Deadline: June 24.

Topics to be covered during the course include:

• What are labor stories?
• Introduction to basics, including business terms and math needed to cover labor.
• How to cover unions, labor negotiations and strikes.
• Reporting on health, safety, and environmental problems and investigating workplace safety dangers.
• Reporting on the situation for women, children and the elderly in the workplace and economy.
• The impact of globalization and privatization on the workplace and workers.

The course curriculum was developed by long-time U.S. journalist Stephen Franklin, and the course will be led by Egyptian business reporter Atef Hassan.

Stephen Franklin is a veteran journalist, writer, and media trainer. He worked as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Franklin was the Middle East bureau chief of the Chicago Tribune where he also covered the Israel and the Arab World. He also specializes in covering labor issues and the economy.

Atef Hassan is a Business reporter at Mergermarket, a publication of the Financial Times Group. He was a trainer in Cairo, Minya, Luxor and Alexandria, Egypt, for an ICFJ program on elections coverage in 2005.

Hassan also worked as a political and technology reporter for the Saudi Al-Jazirah newspaper in Cairo. Prior to that, he was a reporter and editor at regional newspapers based in Minya, Egypt.

The course is open to computer-literate Arabic-speaking journalists with at least one year of professional experience. Participants must be willing to read all course materials, conduct research for assignments and interact online with instructors and fellow participants.

Click here to apply. You need to create an account if you already don't have one. For more information, please contact Bassam Sebti at [email protected].