I am here because...

I was born in a country which is always waiting for a real peace. Empathy, solidarity, and togetherness are the things people want, but it is also a big challenge for them.

I am from Afghanistan the country which is well known for its three decades of war, but it is also famous for the ancient history, culture and civilization, and the location which is called the heart of Asia.

I am a journalist and a civil society activist.

Why am I here?

Because...

I am so much interested in media and relevant activities, hence I decided to become a journalist. I have gained BA in Journalism at Kabul University at the end of 2013, and fortunately I found opportunities to work with different media organizations as Intekhab Daily, Bitlanders, Wekalat Magazine (Afghanistan Independent Bar Association) and many more.

While I started working with Afghan Women's Network, I helped AWN to develop a monthly newsletter and I am currently working as Chief Editor of the Newsletter. It publishes Afghan women activities, achievements, challenges, problems and their recommendations.

Apart from that, I am Citizen Journalist and Chief Editor for the Prime News Page - a platform for Citizen Journalism, where I am trying to engage youth into media activities through conducting trainings, workshops and online guiding. Via my blogs for Bitlanders I would like to share the community needs for the stakeholders.

Why am I here?

I am one of the CrossCulture Program (CCP) holder for the year 2016, the fellowship is awarded by Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen ifa. The CrossCulture internships gives young people from Germany and Islamic countries the opportunity to gain diverse experience abroad in the context of their working environment and to act as multipliers in their home countries.

I started my fellowship in the middle of February and it is still going on. I wanted to do my
internship with European Youth4Media Network and fortunately the
organization has agreed to host my internship.

Although I will be on my #CCP_life for short period of time, I can count this opportunity as a key to reflect my culture, the new face of Afghanistan from youth prospective along with the achievements, challenges and recommendations of us.

Mohammad Elias Hatimi