By Mabinty M. Kamara
As parts of efforts to bridge the digital divide on social media, the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) in partnership with Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL) and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has conducted day media training on social media and Women’s digital rights.
The training which was held in Freetown on the 20th of April 2021 targeted 40 participants including female bloggers, female journalists and women’s rights activists in Sierra Leone. According to officials the training was supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana.
Speaking at the event, the national Coordinator for MRCG, Dr. Francis Sowa said that the project is aimed at improving digital literacy of 40 women, leading to advocacy for women’s right online in Sierra Leone.
“The MRCG is delighted to join hands with WIMSAL and MFWA to capacitate the women on digital rights and we are optimistic that this one day workshop will serve as a foundation in increasing and engaging internet involvement that respects women’s online rights as well as increase public awareness on women’s rights issues in Sierra Leone,” he said.
He noted that participants will be introduced to online issues and digital rights, privacy and identifying and dealing with online abuses and harassment against women. Focus will also be on digital storytelling and how participants can collaborate to contribute to women’s online advocacy to increase public awareness and respect for women rights and ensure an enabling internet environment is created for women to access and use internet, and benefit from it potentials.
“This is the time for women to champion their own issues. That is why all 40 participants are women so that they will be in a position to understand issues around digital rights and use their various platforms and also the women’s rights activists. It is our desire that this training will yield the desired dividend that will lead to active advocacy on women’s rights issues for the public to understand what the issues are,” he added.
In her statement, the President of WIMSAL, Femi Jarrett- Coker said that the advent of new media (Social Media) has given everyone the opportunity to become digital citizens and save modern society time to interact and share relevant information in record time.
“As we grapple with it in the physical world, gender gap and the violation of women’s rights such as cyber bullying and intruding on women’s privacy in Sierra Leone’s virtual community is increasingly becoming eminent. This requires our timely, appropriate and collective actions as Journalists, Activists and Bloggers. Part of these collective actions is what we are here for today, that is to have a one-day training workshop on the issues of women’s rights in our digital community,” she said.
The training was learning and sharing process with participants highlighting their experiences on the challenges and benefits they gain from online usage. Group work on how the issues of cyber bullying against women and how they could effectively advocate ensuring a serene online space for women climaxed the training.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online (21/04/21)
