WAJA Excellence Awards Slated for Thursday

The award ceremony, to be held on the back of a three-day sub-regional workshop on journalists' role in conflict prevention and the promotion of peace and human rights, will be hosted by the Gambia Press Union. The other collaborators are the Capacity Building Project of the West African Journalist Association and the African Capacity Building Foundation.

The Vice President Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy is expected to deliver the keynote address.

The awards ceremony will honour the three best reports of practising West African journalists in print media, radio and television in the areas of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and human rights.

"Thirty participants, working journalists with several years of practice, interested in conflict reporting and human rights will be drawn from the 15 ECOWAS member countries and the Republic of Mauritania," says a GPU statement.

The workshop, according to the GPU statement, will focus on amongst other things building journalists' awareness on their roles in the promotion of peace and human rights. It will also help improve journalists' understanding of their role in the preservation of peace; improving and broadening the understanding and perspectives of journalists on human rights and peace issues and drawing up a journalists' code of good conduct for peace reporting.

Nominees for the awards will take part in the WAJA organised sub-regional workshop starting today Tuesday, 14. Winners will receive prize money.

Meanwhile, the workshop will be opened by Fatim Badjie-Janneh, Secretary of State for Communications, Information and Technology.