The training, which is the second cohort, is expected to last for six weeks and is aimed at offering participants a unique opportunity to deepen and enhance their investigative reporting capacity.
The fellowship also seeks to promote specialisation in investigative journalism, enhance the quality of reporting on issues of public interest, and contribute to greater accountability and transparency.
At the orientation, Momodou S. Bah, Gambia Press Union president emphasised the importance of the training and encouraged participants to fully participate.
Bah revealed that in a country like The Gambia, where allegations of corruption, mismanagement of funds, and social injustices persist, investigative journalism is crucial in holding officials accountable.
The programme, he added, was designed to strengthen the capacities of journalists, enabling them to report effectively on key issues, thereby enhancing transparency and good governance.
Alhagie Nyang, Freedom House (FH) specialist explained that FH through its PRJ project is a United States government funded project and its objectives is to improve the justice sector in the Gambia.
He informed that they worked directly with judiciary through their partners, adding that the project also focused on improving the civil society and the media but because they could start with the project.
Nyang revealed that they did an assessment to understand what the needs and gaps were before going ahead with the project.
“After the assessments, those were the key areas that were highlighted by partners who took part in the assessment.”.
Other speakers included Mustapha Ceesay and Mustapha Darbo, who would also serve as trainers during the course of the six-weeks training.
