Our Skill Your Growth

The Independent Media Organization in Kurdistan is set up to improve the quality of the media in order to help the democracy in the country to develop. It works mainly in Iraqi Kurdistan and for all media, both party and independent. IMCK wants to improve the quality of the existing media, the quality of journalism and that of the media landscape.

Independent Media Organisation in Kurdistan (IMOK), founded in April 2008, is an(NGO) based in Iraq working to improve the quality of Iraq’s media.

Independent Media Organization in Kurdistan (IMOK) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in northern Iraq working to improve the quality of Iraq’s media. It was founded in April 2008 by Free Press Unlimited, and was registered as an NGO with the Kurdistan Regional Government in 2009. Since its establishment IMCK has conducted over 50 projects annually, including workshops, on the job training, and providing individualized training for local media outlets and public officials, members of parliament and the police. Because of the security situation outside of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), IMOK conducts most of its trainings and projects from its base in the IKR.

Based on the changing security situation throughout Iraq journalists from other parts of Iraq are brought to the IKR for training. IMOK works both with independent media and party-affiliated media outlets, because it wants to raise the level of all media in Iraq. IMOK has established a post graduate training in journalism for graduates from universities throughout Iraq, to improve the skills of recently graduated journalists. Three years ago IMOK launched the Kirkuk Now online news agency, the only independent media outlet that covers developments throughout the Kirkuk province and/or developments relevant to the Kirkuk population in the three main languages of the province, Arabic, Kurdish and Turkmen as well as in English. The mission of Kirkuk Now is to provide objective and balanced news coverage and human interest stories to all Kirkuk’s ethnic and religious communities in order to promote understanding and tolerance. Also to provide the freelance journalists who work for this online news agency with on-going training to strengthen the quality and professionalism of Iraq’s media sector. IMOK strives to raise the quality of all journalism in Iraq and encourage responsible ethical journalism whether it is independent or party affiliated.