By Joy Gadani
Africa Media Development Foundation, has flagged-off its 2019 Journalism Skills Advancements Project (JSAP) in Kaduna, northern Nigeria.
The project which aims at strengthening the scope and capacity of participants, will over the next ten months build capacity of reporters, especially those without journalism background, to an acceptable basic journalism level.
Other objectives of the project include;
- To train reporters on how to carry out computer aided research for integration into reporting.
- To train reporters on how to mainstream the social media into their work, and
- To introduce reporters to basic data journalism.
The training is part of AMDF’s mission of providing professional support to media.
By its design, the project will involve face to face meetings, practical sessions field trips and newsroom visitation, among others.
The project will be anchored by a veteran journalist, Mr Andrew Fadason, who had worked in both broadcast and print media.
At the opening, Mr. Fadason called on participants “to have an open mind to learn and share ideas,” this he believes will help participants acquire firsthand experience and practical lessons that will help them stand out as proud journalists in the Society.
Also speaking, Executive Director of AMDF, Mr. Iliya Kure said the training will add value to the skills of participants and address ethical issues in journalism, especially in Nigeria and Africa at large.
“We are working with experts to deliver tailored trainings that will address specific issues whether it is fake news, investigative journalism, development journalism, advocacy journalism, etc.
“We are here to provide the needed support to uphold the standard of journalism on the continent,” he said.
AMDF has trained significant number of journalists in Nigeria on specialized reporting, online journalism, social media for journalists, budget monitoring & tracking, Investigative Journalism and Development Journalism, among others.