Ahead of the 2024 general elections, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) with funding from the US Embassy have trained journalists on conflict sensitive reporting and peace building.
The two-day Capacity Building Training which aims to equip journalists and media organizations to enhance peace, reduce conflict, and discourage mis/disinformation and mal-information was held at the Sunlodge Hotel in Accra from 20 to 21st February 2024.
Speaking at the opening of the training, Rolf Olson, Charge D’Affaires at the US Embassy in Ghana noted that the training program is in recognition of the fact that journalists play an important role in seeking to address conflicts.
According to Rolf Olson, the training is part of the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, which is a long-term U.S. initiative to prevent violence and advance stability in areas vulnerable to conflict.
He added that Ultimately, it is the hope of the US Embassy that the training offered helps equip you to take action in helping to defuse conflict, whatever the immediate cause or causes.
“There are, of course, different kinds of conflict. Chieftaincy, land, and ethnic disputes have existed in various regions for different lengths of time, and some of those causes often overlap. There is also the potential for violence by extremist organizations, though Ghana has fortunately avoided suffering any such attacks thus far, even as some of your neighbors already have. Violent extremist organizations will take advantage of any opportunity to sow doubt, division, and disagreement. Doubts and division begin when people lose faith in their government, their institutions, and their communities,” Rolf Olson, added.
Also addressing participants, Dr. Kojo Impraim, the Programme Director in charge of Media for Peace and Sustainable Development at MFWA indicated that the project which spans 12 months seeks to train 100 journalists from Northern, Savannah, Bono East, Upper East, Upper West, and Greater Accra on conflict sensitive reporting and peacebuilding.
Dr. Impraim also encouraged participants to use their platforms to promote peacebuilding and ensure that publications are fact-based in order to help reduce all form of conflicts.
For the two days in Accra, participants were taken through sessions on violent extremism, conflict sensitive reporting and peacebuilding, the role of the media in conflict resolution, fact-checking among others by facilitators from National Peace Council (NPC) and MFWA.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu
