As part of their assistance to member countries, and to ensure professionalism of the Gambian media, the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in partnership with the Gambia government, and University of The Gambia (UTG) sponsored a three-day media training workshop for senior journalists, editors and media chiefs, which ended Friday with the certification of more than 25 Gambian journalists.
The event convened by the organizers was held at the media lab of the Law Faculty of the UTG, and comprised a two-day forum on Media and Development, followed by the three-day capacity building training workshop.
The topics treated during the three-day intensive training included The Gambian media’s understanding of relations between media and economic development in a multi-party democracy; media policies and law: ethical principles for journalistic practices, decision-making and moral judgment; basic principles of economics, public finance and their influence on national budget; writing, researching and reporting: covering business and financial news; investigative reporting; preparing interview and reporting; media as agent of sustainable development, peace building and security; citizen journalism and application of new media; reporting on conflict and humanitarian issues, and covering international criminal justice, among other topics.
Addressing media practitioners at the certification ceremony, Ms. Oluwatoyin Job, Adviser West Africa at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, UK hailed the participants for demonstrating a high sense of determination and commitment during the training, while urging them to share the knowledge gain edwith their collogues.
“You have learned a lot during this training, and the trainers are drawn from in and outside the continent,” she said, and went on to express the hope that her secretariat will partner with Gambian journalists for future collaboration.
The Director General of Management Development Institute, Dr. Jainaba Kah, told journalists that the discussion was open and honest, adding that media in any society plays pivotal role in socio-economic development.
She commended the University for hosting the media fraternity, while also commending the participants for their commitment, adding that education is a continuous process, especially for journalists.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, Professor Momodou Kah, said that both the forum and the workshop were quite engaging, adding that UTG will strive hard to build the professional capacity of the media fraternity.
“We hope to partner with the media fraternity for professional training,” he said.
Prof. Kah went on to hail the efforts of the Commonwealth Secretariat for funding the workshop.
“This training has reallybroadened my journalistic horizon, and it has availed me the opportunity to learn new things in the media especially in a globalised world,” Pa Modou Faal, of The Point newspaper said when this reporter approached him to sound his opinion.