By Mabinty M. Kamara
The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) through the Media Foundation for West Africa with funding support from the Embassy of the Netherlandss in Ghana has trained 50 female journalists and female Civil Society Activists in digital literacy and fact checking in an effort to combat fake news across Sierra Leone.
The two day intensive training took participants through women’s digital rights issues, such as access, privacy, cyberbullying, sextortion and other forms of online violence that limits their participation online.
Speaking at the commencement of the training in Bo, southern Sierra Leone, Dr Francis Sowa, Coordinator Media Reform Coordinating Group noted that similar training opportunities have been given to female journalists and activists in Freetown and that given the importance of such training, together with their partners they thought it necessary to replicate similar sessions in the provinces so that journalists there can benefit from it as well.
He said such a training was part of the continuous professional Development of journalists, urging them to treat the sessions with the seriousness they deserve. “It is your responsibility to advance your professional career,” he said.
Dr Sowa narrated how he started his journalism education in Workshops before he enrolled for a university education making the course interesting for him. He highlighted the relevance of the topics discussed at the training, emphasizing the need for digital literacy and fact checking for journalists
The training being coordinated by Women In the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), Marian Tina Conteh, Secretary General of WIMSAL encouraged her members to treat the session with the desired attention, noting that such opportunities are hard to come by and that the topics for the training were useful resources for the daily engagement of many in this digital era. He also admonished them to make good use of the knowledge gained by sharing with their constituents upon their return to their various districts and media institutions.
Speaking on behalf of MFWA in Ghana, Dora Boamah Mawutor acknowledged the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana for supporting the foundation to empower women’s digital rights and education for women to assert their rights in Africa. She expressed hope that the participants will not only learn but share that which they have learned.
One of the participants at the Training Diana Fillie from Bo expressed appreciation, saying that the skills she has gained both in fact- checking and the experiences shared by other participants about what obtains in the digital space will go a long way in guiding her digital mindset. Participants were drawn from all the districts of Sierra Leone including Bonthe. At the end of the session, participants were encouraged to create blogs so that they can use it to comment on important national issues and also counter disinformation.
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