Over the two days, journalists and government agency representatives had a chance to work together on tasks that built on their isolated and collective duties.  

Ms. Sabiatu Bakarr, research officer in the disaster management department, Office of National Security of Sierra Leone, said: “It is like an open space and we have the freedom to agree and disagree on opinion and issues without the fear of being misquoted or misunderstood. And they (journalists) are giving us an understanding of what they look for in terms of messaging and how government can communicate more clearly, and now we have a clear picture of the news cycle. But they also now appreciate our challenges and how we work and the way in which we structure information flow.”

According to Edward Wanyonyi, DIRAJ Chairperson, inspiring and shaping how journalists and representatives of National DRR authorities engage leads to better preparedness and community empowerment.

“If after the training, every participant can do something and do so consistently, then we sure will make progress,” he said.

Arthur Obayuwana the Communications Officer, ECOWAS Commission, said that ECOWAS is supporting national authorities to have special desks for media engagement to coordinate better flow of information and training.

Participants proposed to ECOWAS, UNDRR and DIRAJ to support the formation of an ECOWAS regional network on reporting DRR issues.  There were 29 participants including journalists, editors, and government representative from The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

*David Owino is the Secretary-General of the Disaster Risk Reduction Network of African Journalists- DIRAJ 

Date:

17 Dec 2019

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Africa (UNDRR AF)

Themes:

Advocacy & Media

Regions:

Africa