Media, civil society forum set up in Najaf

Child wounded in IED blast in Mosul NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: A group of civil society institutions, media personnel and journalists from al-Furat al-Awsat on Sunday announced the formation of their first forum during a conference in Najaf city. “Five years after the collapse of the former regime, civil society institutions are still unable to display their activities and their role in Iraq’s present and future…,” the head of the project, Aamer al-Akayeshi told IraqiNews.com. In cooperation with the National Fund for Democracy (NFD) in al-Furat al-Awsat, the Media and Civil Society Forum has been launched by the Society for Journalism and Media, he added. Al-Furat al-Awsat, a geographical area in southern and central Iraq at the Euphrates River Basin, encompasses the provinces of Najaf, Karbala, Diwaniya and Babel and sometimes al-Muthanna.     SS (P)/SR 1