The German Embassy in Jordan, along with the Foreign Office in Berlin, has initiated this project as an outcome of prior cooperation with the Erich Brost Institute in 2021. The aim of the delegation visit of 12 key actors in the Jordanian media system – representing both actors belonging to, or close to, the government, as well as an equal number of representatives of citizen media and independent journalism.  The composition of the delegation group has been in the sole responsibility of the German Embassy in Amman and the government of Jordan. The project aims to trigger and support gradual changes towards a more liberal media system in Jordan. Also Jordan – along with most other MENA states – keeps media under close control of the government, and restricts both traditional and social media. However, past projects have also helped identify media actors in the country which appear open to, or even actively promote, democratic changes in the media system. This project seeks to strengthen those independent and progressive voices, and enable a respectful and open debate between the rather conservative and the more progressive actors in the Jordan media.

The project "The Fourth Estate – Journalism and Politics in Germany", aiming to promote a dialogue between the relevant media stakeholders about the future of press freedom in Jordan, consists of three consecutive project phases:

• On 5-6 November 2022, an introductory workshop with the 12 delegation participants (see program attached) has been conducted in Amman. The workshop was conceptualized and organized by the Erich Brost Institute.
• In the period of November 20-26, 2022, a delegation with 12 key actor representatives from Jordan visited Germany and participated in a dense information program with relevant media and political actors in Berlin (see program attached) as well representatives of the Institute of Journalism at TU Dortmund. The program was jointly conceptualized by the Erich Brost Institute, the German Embassy in Jordan, and the Goethe Institute.
• The project has been summarized by a follow-up workshop which was held in Amman on 02-03 February 2023. This meeting served to reflect the visit and identify key learnings relevant for the Jordan context, potentially to be implemented in the course of the ongoing transformation process.