Research Journalism Initiative

Denver, Colorado, United States

RJI staff living in the West Bank work with Palestinian students to produce film, radio, photographic and print media that American educators may incorporate into a wide variety of high school and university curricula.

RJI facilitates live videoconferences between American high school students and Palestinian university students, creating opportunities for a direct exchange that is free of the filters typical of the mainstream American media. The program exposes American youths to elements of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not usually discussed as part of the formal educational system and allows them to process their fears, anger and suspicions in an open environment.

Through interaction between the two groups, RJI enables American students to engage in learning about realities of life in Palestine from those actually living such experiences.

A broad range of project themes allows for many creative and innovative applications in the classroom; teachers have used RJI content in history, current events, economics, and even poetry classes.

RJI is currently focused on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but will continue to expand in the coming years to include projects in additional regions of conflict across the globe.

TIG's interactive forum allows RJI to develop and support its network of participating teachers and students, allowing them to create interactive digital classrooms, receive professional technical support, and engage in collaborative global learning initiatives. All of RJI's multimedia resources for teachers are available online at no cost to teachers; please see a variety of films, printed media, photography, radio pieces and lesson plans developed by RJI teachers by clicking on Teacher Resources at www.ResearchJournalismInitiative.net.