Journalists and Media Professionals Undergo Media Training facilitated by the United Nations

United Nations Resident Coordinator a.i. Mr. Dirk Wagener in his opening remarks thanked the participants on their tireless efforts in keeping us informed every day, and how the society is counting on each of them to continue to learn and contribute to taking journalism to greater heights in PNG.

 “The United Nations values the work of the media in Papua New Guinea and is committed to empowering the media by providing capacity development training. I hope that through this training, participants will have gained an enhanced understanding of the importance of their role and more importantly, take away practical skills that can help reach the highest standard of professional journalism”.

The workshop is held to empower journalists and media professionals by providing judicious and updated information and communication approaches that are vital as the country progresses with its sustainable development plans. Participants were also welcomed to reflect on their role in protecting ‘Freedom of Expression’, including press freedom and freedom of information, as a fundamental human right.

Protecting these rights are essential to empowering vulnerable populations, building peaceful communities, and advocating for improved health for all, especially as the country recovers from the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Anup Gurung, World Health Organisation Officer In Charge (WHO OIC), highlighted the importance of accurate reporting on COVID-19 and the risks involved during the election period.

“The risks of COVID-19 transmission during the election is very high. The more people gather in a crowd and the longer people interact with each other, the greater the risk of COVID-19 spreading,” he said. “People will need or want more information from reliable and trusted sources to make informed decisions; this training will be valuable in preparing you to report and share information accurately, not only during the elections but throughout your role.”

Training sessions are led by staff from the United Nations agencies, programmes and funds including World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA and OHCHR. Topics include conflict sensitive reporting, combating COVID-19 and misinformation during election period, ethical guidelines for journalists reporting on children and young people, anti-corruption and sexual reproductive health data.

Participants from the National newspaper, NBC Radio, Post Courier, Sunday Chronicles, Wantok Newspaper, Equal Playing Field, Tribe FM, Hope PNG FM (Lae/Morobe), UCB PNG LAIF FM (Wewak), TVWan and Loop PNG, and Radio FM 100 attended the first day of the media workshop, in-person and virtually. The second day of the media workshop will be held this coming Thursday 19 May 2022.

Following this training, the UN is committed to working with our media partners to provide training that will ensure Papua New Guinea’s news media is held to the highest standard of journalistic quality and integrity, and that the nation’s journalists can fulfill their role in educating the public and holding individuals and institutions accountable.