Joint Declaration by journalists of J&K

Journalists from Indian Administered Kashmir and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) Friday arrived at a consensus over issues relating to them on the two sides of the Line of Control (LoC) for removing the existing barriers between them. After the conclusion of a two-day intra-Kashmir journalists’ workshop at Islamabad Club in which a group of 29 journalists from Kashmir valley and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), they came up with a several recommendations they agreed upon during the workshop.
The journalists also formed a joint four-member group, which would be responsible for content sharing between the different media organizations and also a joint working group of the journalists from the two sides. The workshop, a first of its kind, jointly organized by Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) and Center for Peace Development and Reforms (CPDR), gave following recommendations:

1. Content sharing (News, feature and photo aggregate). Publish apolitical stories from one another’s region.
2. Creating joint social media groups, including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp.
3. Holding frequent interactions on a timely basis (e.g. six-monthly). The conferences should be held in the region.
4. Create an interim body in the future and name the body (eg Intra Kashmir Journalists Group). The body will have Azad Kashmir and Jammu Kashmir chapters and a rotational president is elected every two years. Joint training programs of working journalists.
5. Start a process of registering professional journalists on both sides of the LoC.
6. Document history of journalism on both sides of Kashmir. Create a digital library related to J&K.
7. Try to ensure hard copies of newspapers are circulated through cross-LoC routes and see that all the libraries have these newspapers.
8. Make a documentary about the life across both sides of Kashmir that would end on the two sides of the LoC.
9. Involve media departments on both the sides of LoC. Deliver Skype lectures to journalism students.
10. Publish a six-monthly newsletter, online and print.
11. Give away awards to the best cross-LoC reporting awards.
12. Directory of journalists working all over the world.