40 journalists representing media houses from across Africa participated in a three day training workshop that sought to improve their reporting on climate change issues in Africa and as a pre event to the seventh African Development Forum (ADF) whose main theme this year will address climate change and sustainable development in Africa.
The training “Getting it right : reporting climate change for sustainable development in Africa” was made possible through the collaboration and partnership of UNITAR, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AFDB) and took place form the 8 to 10 October at the UNECA headquarters in Addis Ababa.
“Some technical issues such as climate change adaptation, mitigation, finance and technology require specialized training in order to enhance the reportorial skills, yet many reporters in Africa lack the ability to analyze many technical details and statistics necessary to produce accurate report,” commented Mr Josué Dioné, the Director for Food Security and Sustainable Development Division UNECA, Speaking at the opening session of the training workshop.
During the three day training, the journalists listened to presentations that addressed the main themes of the climate change policy regime, Adaptation, mitigation, finance and technology and heard from fellow media practitioners on how to remain current and accurate in the face of a dynamic subject and with limited resources to attend all major meetings.
The journalists were encouraged to write their stories from a human point of view, giving a face to the impacts of climate change that can already be observed in communities all over Africa, already suffering the consequences of climate change.
The 40 journalists will also be covering the Seventh African Development Forum, which will take place in Addis Ababa, 10 to 15th October 2010, and brings together eminent personalities, including heads of state and government, government representatives, public and private sector operators, NGO/CSOs, finance houses, academia as well as bilateral and multilateral development partners.
It is anticipated that the journalists will use the opportunity of attending the ADF to already begin to put into practice the lessons learned from the training and improve the reporting on climate change.
For more information about the training please contact Sharon.oseku@unitar.org.