INTRODUCTION[center][/center]
The International Association of Independent Journalists, based in Canada and London,is the umbrella body for all Independent professional and amateur journalists worldwide. Membership is open to all irrespective of your nationality, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. Anyone who has ever used the internet (emails, youtube, facebook, blogs and Nairaland among others) to disseminate information about their opinions, news events in their environments or lives, is an Independent Journalist cum Citizen Journalist. For example, we post about government, policies and issues that affect us as Nigerians not only on facebook but on Nairaland and various channels like blogs, websites and even print newspapers. That qualifies us all to be called Citizen Journalists. Membership to this organization can be sought by visiting the website of organization at www.iaij.org or writing to require more info from [email]info@iaij.org[/email]. Please note that no spamming whatsoever would be welcomed.

[center]THE STATUS OF CITIZEN JOURNALISTS AROUND THE WORLD SURVEY--- 2012[/center][b][/b]
Please find attached to this post, copy of the 2012 Survey form (to be downloaded, filled and returned via email)to [email]survey@iaij.org[/email]. The survey is meant to collect people's opinions from all corners of the world on their experiences about what it means to be a Citizen Journalist in their locality, country etc. You don't need to print out the form. Downloading it as either PDF or MS Word doc on your computer and filling it with the keyboard before returning as attachment with your email is enough! Reports from around the world will form the core of our report for the UNESCO World Summit of the Information Society Forum WSIS coming up in 2013. However, we need all survey response to be turned in asap so we can file our report by November latest.

According to an extract from the organization website,

'This independent report by IAIJ will be global in scope and will pay particular attention to the similarities and differences in citizen journalist experiences by country and region. The report should be finished by late November and be ready for reference at the World Summit of the Information Society Forum (WSIS) held by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in Paris, France early in 2013. WSIS was the result of U.N. Resolution 56/183 approved on December 21, 2001 as an attempt to deal with the new digital age and its effect on society. Recommendations from this WSIS event will eventually become part of ongoing collaborations of many different stakeholders for the betterment of human society as a whole.

Thank you for taking part in this project. If you need more information regarding filling out any part of the form, please kindly write to me at aoa22@student.london.ac.uk or adewale.akintayoo@gmail.com