The forum, held at a local hotel in Kololi, was organised through the West Africa Quality System Programme (WAQSP), a four and half year project bankrolled by the European Union.It is being implemented by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation for Ecowas and Ecowas countries.
Ousman Sillah, communications expert for WAQSP in The Gambia, said the workshop was organised to equip journalists and other media personnel with basic knowledge regarding quality issues.
Joseph Ndenn, WAQSP national technical coordinator for The Gambia, said by the end of the two-day training session, the journalists would acquire the technical capacity to cover activities in the field of quality in general and the programmes of WAQSP.
In his remarks, John Oppong-Otoo, WAQSP national technical coordinator for Ghana and a resource person for the workshop, said the training workshop will create and instill quality consciousness among journalists and other media professionals on quality and standards.
“It is expected that after the training, you will understand and become ambassadors in quality promotion,” he said.
Papa Secka, the director general of the Gambia Standards Bureau, said the training course will serve as a unique opportunity for the participants to be au fait with WAQSP and overall quality systems of The Gambia.
Mr Secka, who is also the WAQSP focal person for The Gambia, said at the end of the two days, the participants would have competence in the area of quality.
He said the bureau wants quality issues to become household name in The Gambia, and journalists have a role to play in that drive.
