From July 31 to September 1, 2023, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) will hold a series of training workshops to improve the capacities of a total of 140 journalists, media managers and social media influencers in Guinea-Bissau to produce quality, factual, ethical and informed content. The training workshops aim to improve access to information and contribute to countering extremist radicalization, disinformation and promoting peace journalism in Guinea-Bissau. It is also to improve the professionalism of the media to enable it to perform its watchdog role effectively.
The trainings are part of the MFWA’s efforts under its Media Strengthening Project entitled: “Promoting Press Freedom and Access to Quality Information in Guinea-Bissau”, which is being implemented in Guinea-Bissau with funding from the European Union.
- 60 journalists; 20 media managers will participatein internal training to improve their ability to conduct professional reporting and accountability; improve digital security, media ethics and media management;
- 25 journalists will beequipped to produce and publish fact-based media content;
- 30 social media influencers will be trained in peace journalism and ways to mitigate extremist radicalization through digital platforms.
The MFWA’s Media Strengthening Project in Guinea-Bissau is a three-year project to be implemented with funding from the European Union. The overall objective has been to ensure that journalists and other media actors in Guinea-Bissau are safe and secure and produce ethically appropriate, timely and fact-based journalistic content that promotes peaceful coexistence and allows public access to quality information in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Since the official launch in July 2022, the MFWA has built the capacities of 130 state and media actors on issues of human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression and digital rights and ways to improve them in Guinea-Bissau. 50 leaders of the main media actors – Sindicato dos Jornalistas e Técnicos de Comunicação Social (SINJOTECS), Rede Nacional das Rádios Comunitárias (RENARC), Associação de Mulheres Profissionais dos Órgãos de Comunicação Social (AMPROCS) and Ordem de Jornalistas da Guiné-Bissau (OJGB) improved their understanding and capacity to monitor and document violations of media rights/freedom of expression (including digital rights). To improve their sustainability, each media actor was supported to develop concise institutional policy documents (i.e. strategic plans, communication and fundraising plans, staffing and human resources plan).
As part of the project, the MFWA will also work with state and media actors to develop a National Journalist Safety Framework that defines the roles and responsibilities of all actors to improve the safety of journalists’ conditions in Guinea-Bissau.
For more information and interviews, please contact:
Diamantino D. Lopes, diamatino2018campus@gmail.com,+245 95 536 86 07
Indira Correia Baldé, leocorreiabalde@gmail.com,+245 95 6298153, +245 966 961 881
Daisy Prempeh, Project Coordinator, daisy@mfwa.org,+245 96 618 24 68
Abigail Larbi-Odei, Project Manager, info@mfwa.org,+233-244867047
Follow the project at:
@ImprensaNa
Facebook address: press freedom in Guinea-Bissau, https://www.facebook.com/limpgb
