The
Voice Newspaper Monday commenced a 10-day in-house training at its media house
in Serrekunda.
The
training, bankrolled by UNESCO-EU training project, was aimed at building the
capacity of journalists in the country.
Delivering
a statement on the occasion, Malick Jones, deputy permanent secretary at the
Ministry of Information, Communication and Infrastructure, said the training was
very important for journalists in doing their work.
DPS Jones called on journalists to be
specialised, which, he said, is very key as a profession, adding that
journalism is a noble profession.
He
said the workshop has come at the right time as it is an opportune moment in
the new dispensation in the political history of the country.
“We
have a new government that has made pronouncement of media freedom, which is
very good news to all journalists,” he said.
Mr Jones also called on journalists to inculcate
the idea of research because research is a fundamental principle of journalism.
Musa
Sheriff, managing director and editor-in-chief of the Voice Newspaper, in his
welcoming remarks, thanked all those who attended the function.
He
said the Gambia media is getting more capacitated and professionalised by the
time hence the project was part of building the capacity of journalists in the
country.
“The
EU and UNESCO decided this year to assist each media house to do it in their
own way because it will make their work easy for them,” the Voice
editor-in-chief remarked.
Mr
Sheriff said the training would go a long way in helping Gambian journalists to
do their work effectively, adding that journalists have a lot of challenges in
doing their work.
In
his remarks on the occasion, the deputy director of the National Centre for
Arts and Culture, Hassoum Ceesay, said that in the past regime the Voice
Newspaper stood out for being consistent in defending democratic values and
human rights, as they followed a line which many people hated them for and even
exposed them to some dangers.
“We
have to commend you and your staff for the fact that you have survived for your
10-year anniversary,” Mr Ceesay, who is also an author, said
The
Coordinator of the UNESCO Project, Papa Njie, in his address, said the project
implementation started some three to four months ago, and they now rely on the
young journalists to take the mantle and move forward with the project.
He
commended The Voice and its editor-in Chief, Musa Sheriff, for implementing the
project in the right way.
