The Thomson Foundation will conduct several training courses this spring for Arab journalists throughout the Middle East.

The organization announced that over the next six months, it will hold more than 30 training courses for Arab journalists at the new al-Jazeera training center in Doha, Qatar. The courses have not yet been scheduled, but Thomson consultant Ian Masters is expected to travel to Qatar in February to finalize the plans.

The Thomson Foundation also will hold three training courses for members of the Arab States Broadcasting Union. Consultant Russell Isaac led the first two-week at the ASBU training center in Damascus, Syria, on directing television documentaries. Other Thomson consultants will travel to Damascus in the coming weeks to lead courses on TV lighting and broadcast media training.

The upcoming courses follow other training sessions held in January. Journalists from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Egypt recently participated in a four-day workshop in Beirut on reporting of social issues. The course was part of Thomson's ongoing civil society program in the Middle East.

For more information on these courses and other Thomson programs in the region, visit the Thomson Foundation website.