Galkaio, November 7, 2018: 20 Galkaio based journalists on Wednesday concluded a three-day training in safety, election coverage and conflict sensitive reporting workshop which was organized by the Media Association of Puntland (MAP) supported by the International Media Support (IMS).
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The workshop which took place at the Sugulle hotel from 5-7 November 2018 brought together 5-female and 15 male journalists from print, TV and Radio media outlets operating in Galkaio.
In a note read out by the MAP chair at his opening remarks of the seminar, Mohamed Dahir, said that “This training comes at a time Galkaio Media practitioners have been directly targeted with physical assault of the radio Galkaio deputy director and the murder of Journalist Abdirizak Saed Osman who worked with radio Codka Nabadda, both incidents occurring in September this year, this training is tailored to the current threats in Galkaio, it is designed to prepare our journalists to protect themselves based on these risks” Said Dahir
During the three days of the training, participants among other topics were equipped with skills on the areas of operational media safety planning, risk assessment, vehicle and travel safety awareness, personal media safety, media and security forces, digital Security, election coverage and basic skills on conflict sensitive reporting.
Importantly three of the participants attending the training were victims of assaults and harassment, who have been useful in sharing their stories including the motives. Participants expressed their gratitude to have gained vital skills and knowledge through this training to boost their personal safety while performing their Journalism duties.
“The uniqueness and suitability of this training with no doubts will help the Journalists better understand the environment in which they operate and gives them materials that help them prevent in running into risks that endanger their well being, this has also been reflected in the training evaluation forms, in which most of the participants’ feedback showed that they are now confident in their skills and are well-prepared to prevent the risks associated to their journalism work as a result of the knowledge they received in the past three-days,” said MAP’s project manager Ibrahim A. Mohamed.
The last day of the training, at the participant’s certificate giving, the MAP chair thanked the participants for their active participation during the three days, he also thanked the facilitator Burhan Ahmed Dahir and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) team for delivering this important training. SRCS team gave the first aid training, which was done on day 2 of the training.
The Media Association of Puntland (MAP) will hold soon a similar Journalist safety and election coverage training in Bosaso ahead of the 2019 Puntland Presidential election.
MAP in 2018, has rigorously engaged with Puntland Media and security stakeholders, with the aim to combat crimes committed against Journalists and issues of impunity through dialogue forums such as the ”Peace council conference” which have been fruitful with significant outcomes, such as the establishment of the ”Puntland Journalist Security committee (PJSC)” and the ”Journalists in danger Hotline”.
According to the CPJ’s global impunity index released in October 2018, Somalia tops a list of countries where journalists are murdered regularly and their killers go free.
MAP will continue its efforts in promoting and defending the Journalists and media interest, freedom of expression and media freedoms through increased advocacy, importantly on pressing the government to investigate crimes committed against journalists and on the other developing professional and responsible media in Puntland State, Somalia.
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