Besan Zarzar

My name is Besan Zarzar, a freelance journalist and media professional specialising in the Middle East, with over a decade of experience. I have worked with both Dutch and international media, including Al Jazeera, BBC Arabic, Euronews, Haarlems Dagblad and NTR. My focus is on creating political and social content for various platforms, including radio, television, websites and social media. Since January 2024, I have been on a traineeship in investigative journalism at RFG and the Fonds Bijzondere Journalistieke Projecten. From November 2024, I will start working at Trouw. My work mainly focuses on highlighting the impact of political events on people's daily lives. Driven by my passion for human stories, I strive to create more awareness about issues in the Middle East and their repercussions in the Netherlands through my journalism.

Want to get in touch with me? Then mail to redactie@rfgmedia.nl.

Work experience

January 2024 - November 2024: Freelance investigative journalist in training at RFG Magazine
Work on investigative projects, and attend training in investigative journalism with FBJP.

October 2022 - June 2024: Freelance social media producer at Aljazeera Documentary
Responsible for collecting content and creating material for social media channels.

November 2016 - September 2017: Freelance online news editor at NTR - Net in the Netherlands
Manage website content, develop and schedule posts for Facebook, create and share videos and perform basic editing and translation (Dutch-Arabic and vice versa).

June 2015 - April 2016: Freelance columnist at HDC Media
Writing the weekly column “Through Besan's Eyes” in the Haarlems Dagblad, focusing on experiences as a newcomer to the Netherlands and cultural differences.

Training

2017 - 2022: Bachelor in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
Focus on languages, economies and politics in the Middle East.

2008 - 2013: Bachelor in Media and Journalism, Damascus University, Syria
Specialising in communications and journalism.

Specialisms

Storytelling and content creation: Expertise in developing gripping stories and creating political and social content for various media, including radio, television, websites and social media.

Multilingual content creation: Expertise in developing engaging stories and content in Arabic, English and Dutch, with a focus on the Middle East and experience working with both local and international media.

Voice-over and podcast production: Completed over 300 successful voice-over projects and involved in the production of audio material in Arabic. I also produced two documentary podcast projects for 2 DOCS in Dutch.