AMMAN — Children with journalistic skills will be trained by professional media experts starting next year to create new a generation of journalists, a media practitioner said on Saturday.

The Arab Youth Media Forum (AYMF) will launch the Junior Journalist initiative early next year to train talented children on journalism skills and writing, AYMF Ambassador Haitham Yousef said yesterday.

“Arab media experts and lecturers will be in charge of training children who have a passion for journalism and media to develop their skills,” he said during a press conference to announce the 2011 AYMF Award winners.

Yousef noted that the initiative will be organised in cooperation with the Arab States Broadcasting Union, an affiliate of the League of Arab States, and the Children’s Museum.

He said winners of the 2011 AYMF Award include several well-known Arab diplomats and media people, including Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser and the London-based Al Hayat daily.

Established in 2006, the AYMF seeks to encourage excellence among young Arab journalists and act as a platform for them to interact and exchange ideas about issues concerning their countries.

More than 1,700 journalists from across the region are currently members of the AYMF, which established its first embassy, in Amman in 2006.