MRCG-SL rolls out Capacity Building Workshop for Journalists Safety

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Media Reform Coordinating Group-Sierra Leone(MRCG-SL) and Media Foundation for West Africa(MFWA) with support from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana has on Wednesday, August 2, jointly organized a day’s Capacity Building Workshop for thirty (30) Journalists at the G-GEM Services Hall in Freetown. The training chaired by Dr. Francis Sowa, the MRCG Chairman is to improve the capacity of Bloggers, Journalists, Reporters, Producers and Editors working for Print, Electronics and Online media outlets in Sierra Leone to Report accurately while staying safe. Sierra Leone’s BBC Correspondent, Umaro Fofana was the lead facilitator of the day’s Safety Workshop Journalists training, he shared numerous personal experiences and global safety issues other media practitioners have encountered during the course of their work. He also introduced the participants to the Basics of Safety in Journalism, risk awareness, digital and cyber safety including practical physical safety sessions at the same time guided them on how to identify safety mechanisms available for Journalists, produce responsible and fact-based coverage in their daily reportage. The Director, PIAR and Strategic Communications at the Office of National Security (ONS), co-facilitated a session on the topic “Working with the Security Agencies” which was followed by question and answers between himself and the Journalists. Participants made several commitments and assured MRCG-SL that they will put into proper practice all knowledge learnt from the day’s engagement in their daily journalism work and will also share the workshop to their colleagues in their various News rooms.