When Bashar al-Assad’s government was overthrown at the end of 2024, Mais Katt, a Syrian journalist who has lived in exile for 14 years, immediately returned to her country. She was one of the first journalism trainers to enter Damascus after the fall of the regime. Her goal? Help prepare women journalists to take advantage of their newfound freedoms.
Aziza Nofal, a Palestinian freelance journalist and an ICFJ Jim Hoge Reporting Fellow, through her fellowship, conducted a months-long investigation into the shortage of aid for refugees living in West Bank refugee camps. When Nofal was covering Israeli incursions into West Bank refugee camps for outlets like Al Jazeera, she observed a lack of support from Palestinian authorities.
Originally from Egypt, Amr Eleraqi is a journalist, author and instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada. He is the founder of the award-winning data journalism website, InfoTimes, and a former ICFJ Knight Fellow. His latest book, on Python coding skills for journalists, was released at the start of this year. Eleraqi spoke with IJNet about his start in journalism, media in both the Middle East and Canada, his new book project and more.
When Rana Sabbagh was a young girl in Jordan, her German mother introduced her to the idea of Gerechtigkeit, which translates roughly to “justice” or “fairness.” Sabbagh’s career as an investigative journalist has revolved around this ideal: that justice, accountability and the rule of law matter. Today, Sabbagh — ICFJ's Knight Trailblazer Award winner — continues to drive hard-hitting investigations in the Middle East.
