ARIJ in Damascus… Strengthening Investigative Journalism During the Transitional Phase
August 27, 2025
For the first time since 2011, ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism) returned in person to the Syrian capital, Damascus, after a forced absence due to the war.
From August 25 to 27, 2025, ARIJ organized an intensive three-day training on investigative journalism, which included an open dialogue session on the evening of August 26.
The activity was held in partnership with the “Women Who Won the War” Foundation, with the aim of supporting investigative journalism and fact-checking in Syria during the transitional phase. Representing ARIJ at the training and event were Director General Rawan Damen and Executive Editor Hoda Osman.
The in-person training targeted 11 Syrian female journalists from different provinces. It included 20 training hours covering the mechanisms of investigative work, from selecting an idea and formulating a hypothesis to fact-checking and publishing.
Joining Damen and Osman in the training was Mais Qat, founder and editor-in-chief of “Women Who Won the War”, and an ARIJean investigative journalist who has worked on cross-border investigations in recent years. She emphasized that “an entire generation of journalists in Syria has not received any professional training or participated in conferences, which has negatively impacted the level of journalism in a country that is in dire need of a genuine fourth estate.”
Journalist Aroub Hammoud, one of the participants in the training, said the workshop “brought together female journalists from different areas, contributing to a convergence of perspectives among us. This helped me learn how to put myself in someone else’s place when formulating any investigative hypothesis.”
For her part, journalist Rasha Sheikh Mousa stressed that the training was “an important step because it provides a common ground that brings Syrian journalists together after the war had divided them.”
Journalist Jasnit Tam explained that “the transitional phase in Syria, with the opening of space for the press to play its role, makes it necessary to seize this opportunity to work professionally. Given the rapid developments in the country, empowering investigative journalism has become an urgent need today.”
The journalists will continue their training during September 2025, through three online sessions. These will focus on advanced research skills, uses of AI, and methods for preparing and presenting a successful investigative report, qualifying them to propose ideas for investigations and to participate in person in ARIJ’s upcoming 18th Forum in Amman.
For the first time in Damascus in more than 15 years, Rawan Damen held a dialogue session with a group of Syrian journalists. The session was moderated by Mais Qat.
The dialogue session was attended by more than 70 journalists, and addressed the professional journey of Rawan Damen, the prospects of ARIJ’s work in the Arab World in general and in Syria in particular, as well as its role in supporting journalists and fact-checkers.
Damen also showcased ARIJ projects that focus specifically on supporting female journalists, alongside themes related to fact-checking, developments in generative AI, and its ethics.
Participants also discussed the role of Syrian women in investigative journalism and exchanged experiences on the challenges and opportunities facing journalism in Syria during the current transitional phase.
ARIJ is supporting in-person training in generative AI and AI ethics, following a “training of trainers” program across the Arab region. In Syria, more than 200 journalists will be trained in the coming months by Mais Qat and Abdullah Maksour.
It is noteworthy that ARIJ is one of the few regional Arab institutions that has consistently maintained engagement with journalists inside Syria and in the diaspora throughout the years of the revolution. It has provided ongoing remote and digital training, and has supported the production of dozens of investigative reports between 2006 and 2025.
