A new centre for media freedom established in the Afghan capital, Kabul, was officially opened last week, and is now home to nine independent publications. The Afghan Media and Culture Centre, supported by UNESCO, the non-government organisation AÏNA, the European Union and British and US government aid agencies, has been equipped with computers and internet facilities, to provide office space for news outlets such as the newspaper Kabul Weekly, the women’s magazine Malalai, and the satirical magazine Zambil e Ghan. The building will also provide training areas for photography, video and newspaper production, and communication techniques, as well as a permanent centre for Afghan journalists to train, seek advice, attend lectures and other events and utilise research materials. According to UNESCO, this ‘media nursery’ will aim to reduce costs for nascent publications, as well as providing expert advice on how to raise funds, on developing distribution networks, on making contacts with international agencies and in organising advertising. ‘All those involved in this project have the same goals: to support independent media projects, encourage a new generation of professional journalists, defend real freedom of expression in Afghanistan and guarantee democratic and multi-ethnic debate throughout the country,’ commented Director of UNESCO’s Kabul office, Martin Hadlow.