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Hasakah Media Directorate and Suroyo Media Foundation discuss expanded cooperation and Syriac representation in local and national media
HASAKAH, Syria — The Hasakah Media Directorate held a meeting with the Suroyo Media Foundation to discuss expanded cooperation. The talks covered press coverage in the governorate, possibilities to facilitate media access to local events and activities, and enhanced presence of Syriac journalists within official media institutions.
Musab al-Hamadi, the Director of Public Relations at the Hasakah Media Directorate, met with a Suroyo Media Foundation delegation that included the Foundation’s Head Simel Samuel and Head of the Editorial and News Department Maria Hanna. Samuel and Hanna introduced the work and media activities of their Foundation. Mechanisms for coordination and collaboration between the two sides were discussed.
In comments to our news desk, Maria Hanna stated that the meeting had been long sought after, amid the regional transformations that followed the integration process into Syrian state institutions and the subsequent reorganization of the administrative, security and media landscapes.
She added that the Foundation faces difficulties in accessing certain events taking place in the governorate, noting that some coverage, including official delegations, inaugurations and public events, had not been equally available to all media outlets. Hanna added that, during the meeting the delegation clarified that Suroyo Media Foundation holds a license from Daramsuq (Damascus) and seeks to continue its journalistic work in Hasakah Governorate, calling for facilitations that would allow it to access and cover events independently.
Hanna reported that Al-Hamadi was receptive to these demands and open to cooperation, pointing out the value of diverse media representation in the governorate and the need to avoid portraying it through a single lens or side. She said the discussion also touched on the possibility of collaborating in producing journalistic materials and exchanging information and coverage, especially in areas that the directorate’s team might find difficult to reach, as well as potential cooperation with the Suroyo Media Foundation’s network of journalists, sources and local figures.
Syriac-Assyrian Representation in Media
The discussions were not limited to media facilitations; they also addressed the representation of the Syriac-Assyrian people within the Hasakah Media Directorate and official media institutions. Hanna stated that their delegation raised the importance of the Media Directorate having staff from the Syriac-Assyrian community, including female staff, within official media institutions, viewing this as part of the diversity that reflects the region’s social composition.
The possibility of nominating Syriac journalists and employees to work at the Directorate was discussed, at a time when the Directorate is reportedly expanding its staff and seeking larger premises to develop its operations.
The discussion comes at a time the government institutions in Hasakah continue to rebuild their structures and reorganize their local presence in the wake of the political, security and administrative changes the governate has undergone.
Syriac Language in Official Media
The meeting also touched on the presence of the Syriac language in official media, including the possibility of developing Syriac-language content within state media outlets. Hanna said the delegation proposed reaching out to the administration of Al-Ikhbaria Syria, the Syrian News Channel, to explore launching a program in Syriac, similar to programs offered in other languages.
According to Maria Hanna, Al-Hamadi expressed interest in the idea, noting that he had previously emphasized the importance of recognizing the Syriac language under Decree No. 13, as one of Syria’s historical languages.
The discussion on language was also linked to the use of several Syriac-origin terms in everyday speech in the region, where Directorate officials, according to Hanna, showed interest in learning more about the Syriac language and the possibility of incorporating it into media content.
The meeting further addressed the issue of Syriac representation in the media narrative concerning the history of towns and cities in North and East Syria, particularly Beth Zalin (Qamishli). Hanna declared that the delegation raised the “absence of Syriac presence” at some recent events related to the centenary of Beth Zalin, despite the role Syriacs played in the city’s founding and its social and economic development.
She added that the Foundation offered to provide Syriac sources and figures who could speak about the city’s history, along with documents, links and archival materials to help expand media coverage related to the history of the city and the region.
Hanna affirmed that Suroyo Media Foundation is ready to cooperate with the directorate in this area, whether by providing journalistic materials, conducting interviews with local figures, or helping to access sources that government media institutions may not easily reach.
According to Hanna, their delegation stated that the proposed cooperation is not limited to facilitating journalists’ work, but could also include exchanging materials, reports, and information, as well as coordinating coverage if either party is unable to access a particular area or event.
The meeting reflects an attempt to build a more regular relationship between local media institutions and government media bodies in Hasakah, at a time when the governorate is undergoing a gradual transition in managing civilian and media affairs, parallel to the broader integration process between the region’s institutions and the Syrian government.
While security and military integration arrangements have made significant progress, other files, including media, remain under discussion and implementation. In this context, the media issue emerges as part of redefining the relationship between government institutions and local society, as well as between the state and the region’s various components.
For the Suroyo Media Foundation, the matter is not merely about access to news, but about ensuring that Syriac people have a presence in the process of producing the media narrative about Hasakah, whether through journalists working in official institutions, through language, or through sources that document the region’s history and demographic diversity.
Should the cooperation discussed between the two parties move from the level of understandings to practical measures, it would test the extent to which the governorate’s emerging media institutions can offer a more pluralistic model of representation and access to information, at a time when the local media landscape is being reshaped.
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