The Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJaC) on Tuesday launched a project meant to build the capacity of twelve Civil Society Members and Community Media Staff in web management, public speaking, and other forms of communication. The project dubbed Outreach and Bottom-up: Expanding the Civic Space (OBECS) is funded by Civil Society in Development (CISU) and aimed at boosting the communication skills of CSOs and community media journalists to proactively engage their audience. Mrs. Meita Touray, Project Assistant said the project will empower CSOs with skills to create and sustain interactive radio concepts and content in local languages, develop web and social media platforms, and facilitate meetings with mutual learning with CBOs, all geared towards sustaining and encouraging interactive dialogue with their audience. “The current state of this country Calls for emboldened CSOs. This can only be achieved if organizations and institutions like MAJaC continually build the capacity of CSO members to effectively carry out their roles of holding the Government and its institution to account for their actions and inactions. This is also in line with the primary role of journalism thus the need for including community media in this project so that CSOs can reach out to their target communities using the community media, ” she said. She added that the Academy has over the years built the capacity of many civil society members in different thematic areas including advocacy and the use of digital media. And should be acknowledged for empowering community media staff with knowledge and skills relevant to their work. Mr. Alagie Cham representing the Executing Director of TANGO said civil society organizations are a driving force of successful policy advocacy and implementation in most societies. He said that CSOs and the media can thrive better in a democratically stable country where policies are favorable. He further thanked MAJaC for building the capacity of Gambian CSOs. Muhammed S. Bah, President of the Gambia press union said the project came at a time when the Gambia is experiencing a lot of pending reforms agenda, such as constitutional and legal reform, transitional justice reform, and security sector reform among other reforms that are relevant to the people of the Gambia. “In our world today, which is characterized by absolute social injustice, poverty, corruption, bad governance, and unjust distribution of wealth among other things, I believe the only sectors that can save the people of the world from these man-made menaces are vibrant media and CSOs,” Bah said. Bah further called on CSOs and community media staff to make the best use of the training saying that the knowledge and skill they will acquire will help them in their service to their audience.
The Media Academy for Journalism and Communication with partners last Thursday launched a five-week project to train journalists on ethical journalism. The project is meant to prepare journalists with the required skills and knowledge to do their work without any ethical problems. The training would give participants the skills in making ethical decisions in gathering and reporting their news stories. Speaking at the launch, Samba Bah the acting Managing Director, said MAJaC is experienced in implementing projects ranging from capacity building for civil society organisations, journalists and other media workers. He however urged the participants to take the training seriously. Bah further assured donors that the project will be implemented successfully by virtue of the Institutions experience in implementing projects. Representing the Media Council of the Gambia, Emil Touray former Gambia Press Union President said ethical gaps are often times committed by individuals who spent several years in the media who people think they ought to know better. He said the media must do business seriously in order for the public to take them seriously. However, Touray urged participants to participate in all activities of the training and also make good use of the knowledge they would gain. While encouraging trainers to come up with newspaper stories, audios and videos of some of these ethical challenges done by media practitioners, he encouraged the donors to provide more training on responsible journalism and media law for other journalists. The former GPU President, Touray said there is a need to also build the capacity of people who do not see themselves as journalists but do the work of a journalist as they make a lot of ethical errors. Demba Kandeh, the representative from Freedom House; the donor partners for the project said, the programme is funded by the United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development USAID. He said the number of journalists in the Gambia has increased giving the need for raising awareness on issues of ethical reporting. Kandeh assured that the trainers selected for the training are of competence and are up to the task. While hoping that participants take the training seriously. ‘I believe that journalism is more than reporting and presenting. It is about unifying people and promoting peaceful co existence and this can only be done by being truthful and independent,’ Adama Joof, a participant said The training would equip her with the required principles to guide her profession. She said any knowledge gained from the training would be well utilized in her journalistic works which she believes will make her work standout. The current President of the Gambia Press Union, Muhammed S. Bah was also in attendance and he made similar remarks.
The Media Academy for Journalism and Communication in partnership with Freedom House through USAID on Monday, certified 20 journalists who successfully completed a five- week ethical reporting training. The training covers a range of topics including ethics, sourcing, social media, photo and video ethics, handling sensitive issues and how to report in a fair and accurate manner. In his welcoming remark, Sang Mendy, the Managing Director of MAJaC, emphasized the significance of upholding ethical standards in journalism. He stressed that ethical reporting strengthens democracy, holds leaders accountable, and prevents reputational damage “Whatever situation you find yourself graduands, remaining ethical: listening to others, emotional intelligence and knowing how to respond makes a world of difference in terms changing negative perceptions, minimizing rumors/speculations and minimizing if not preventing institutional/individual reputational damage,” Mendy added. In addition to the journalists, 50 members of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) were also certified for completing training on project management, advocacy, fund raising, and organization management. This comprehensive training equips CSOs with the skills needed to make a meaningful impact in their communities. Demba Kandeh, the Deputy Chief of Party at Freedom House said the project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He added that the project is meant to support Media and CSO development as well as support the protection of human rights and governance in the Gambia. Binta Fatty, one of the graduands shared her experiences and the importance of ethical journalism. “I am hopeful that we will fulfill our role as the eyes and ears of the public, keeping their interests in mind while upholding ethical values. I extend my appreciation to Freedom House, MAJaC and USAID, whose benevolent support has provided us with empowering opportunity”, Binta Added. Over the years, the Freedom House in partnership with MAJaC and other organizations have implemented projects on ethical reporting, court reporting, parliamentary reporting among others. They have also collaborated with CSOs and partners to develop the and civil society.