The Media Project's members, spanning over 50 countries, volunteer time and expertise for the good of up-and-coming leaders in journalism in the developing world through our work on professional development and networking. 

We also publish original features from our network here at TheMediaProject.org once a week, and we're looking back this week at some of our readers' favorite stories from the past year. 

HERE ARE TMP'S TEN MOST POPULAR FEATURES FROM 2016

1/10 - TMP member Ben Cal recently retired after 40 years as an editor and reporter in Philippine newsrooms. His look back on those four decades of reporting "in the line of fire" covering guerrilla wars and political transitions was our most read feature of 2016. 

2/10 - Jayson Casper wrote an engaging piece about a fascinating art project in the city dump in Cairo, Egypt. This mural brings beauty to a dismal part of the city and to the lives of the Christian minority that is born, lives and dies there in the dump. 

3/10 - Inger Alestig, based in Stockholm, Sweden, has been covering northern Europe's struggles to integrate Muslim immigrants and refugees for us. Her interview with reformed Islamist Siavosh Derakhti, who now advocates for tolerance and religious understanding, is a story of real hope and promise. 

4/10 - We published a special bulletin spotlighting the anti-free-press acts by Tanzanian officials to ban publication of TMP member Simon Mkina's muckraking weekly newspaper Mawio. Mkina and his top editors were also detained in police custody. The shuttered paper was known for its exposés on government corruption. The story was also covered by the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

5/10 - Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla was motivated by terrorism tragedies in his home country and in Europe to create artwork in India, a country that has also suffered from violence. Jayson Casper's story digs into Abla's artistic viewpoint and colorful line-drawing work that depicts daily life on Delhi's streets. 

6/10 - Mexico is going though rapid and profound changes. Daniel Valles, our correspondent based in Juarez City, Mexico, discussed the advance of the pro-gay-marriage movement and legislation in his home state of Chihuahua and its challenge to the traditional Christian mores of that country. 

7/10 - Saw Yan Naing covers Burma for TMP and the challenges it faces of integrating a religiously diverse population and a troubled transition from military rule to democracy. Buddhist nationalists there have been militating against leaders from minority religions, like recently installed Christian vice president Henry Van Thio.  

8/10 - Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has made headlines for his confrontational bluster, affection for violence, and low opinion of journalists. Even before Duterte took office, the country was one of the world's worst offenders against press freedom and reporter safety. Baby Lyn Cacho Resulta wrote a top feature on the fears Philippine journalists had as the Duterte era began in June. 

9/10 - Radical Buddhist monk U Thuzana has adopted the strategy of erecting pagodas on the site of existing or proposed religious structures of minority religions in Burma. It's a sort of colonizing act of intimidation, all done illegally. Saw Yan Naing wrote on the experience of St. Mark's Anglican church where U Thuzana's "guerrilla builders" raised another unauthorized pagoda. 

10/10 - The fading star of Buddhist nationalism in Burma is the feature that rounds out our top 10 this year. Though Burma will face violence and uncertainty in 2017, Buddhist nationalists have seen setbacks in their influence and ability to cause disruption. This change enhances the prospects for religious integration and a more stable democracy. 

TMP takes story pitches on a rolling basis. We look first to our existing network, but we welcome pitches from others, as well. Email our editor Richard Potts at Richard@TheMediaProject.org with your ideas.

Graphic credit: The Independent Association of Business on Flickr.

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