[afro-nets] Public Health Training for Nigeria Journalism Students

[Media Resource Advocacy Centre <mracnigeria@yahoo.com>]

Public Health Journalism Training for Nigeria Journalism Stu-
dents
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PRESS RELEASE:
July 31, 2005

Promoting Public Health Journalism through ICT-based youth lead-
ership and reproductive health reporting training for journalism
students

JULY 31, 2005: From the beginning of time, technology has been a
key element in the growth and development of societies. But
technology is more than jets and computers; it is the combina-
tion of knowledge, techniques and concepts; it is tools and ma-
chines, farms and factories. It is organization, processes and
people.

The media has also cashed in on ICT with the advent of On-line
journalism. However this is not reflected in journalism school
training.

Development Communications Network ­ DEVCOMS NETWORK- with sup-
port from The Ford Foundation Office for West Africa will be
conducting a pilot training program on "Promoting Public Health
Journalism through ICT-based youth leadership and reproductive
health reporting training for In-school journalists" for in-
school journalism student from August 1 to August 9 2005. The
students' beneficiaries of this training are selected from Times
School of Journalism, Lagos State University (LASU) School of
Mass Communication and Nigerian Institute of Journalism.

The training is a build up on earlier training for mass communi-
cations students from the University of Lagos on Computer-
Assisted Journalism. The training program has as part of its ob-
jectives:
? To increase knowledge and skills of 48 in-school journalism
students in online journalism through the local appropriation
and application of ICTs to reproductive health and rights is-
sues;

? To improve journalists' access to information in support of
science and public health journalism;

? To promote public health journalism among journalists and
journalism students through in-school curriculum development and
training

The training program has two components-Practical and theoreti-
cal sessions. The theoretical sessions will hold in the premises
of each school while the practical sessions with the use of
internet facilities will hold at the Computer Clubhouse/Media
Resource and Advocacy Centre of Development Communications Net-
work in Surulere, Lagos.

This project offers to provide a creative learning environment
where student journalists work with mentors to explore their own
ideas, develop skills, and build confidence in them through the
use of technology.

Also through an integrated approach the project will provide in-
school journalism students with access to resources, skills, and
experiences with a core focus on reproductive and sexual rights,
HIV/AIDS prevention and other public health issues.

Still as parts of this project, there will be a media for devel-
opment forum which will bring together journalists, scientists
and health professionals and the general public for an interac-
tive forum to discuss issues on safe motherhood as well as one
on "Beyond He Said: Reporting Emerging Public Health Issues and
other Unreported Developments in Nigeria" in August and Septem-
ber.

Some of the facilitators for this training are Diran Onifade,
President of Confederation of African Science Journalists and an
MIT Knight Fellow; Sola Ogundipe, Health Editor at the Vanguard
Newspapers Nigeria; and Declan Okpaleke, a Harvard Niemann Fel-
low among others.

All enquiries regarding this project should be directed to:
Tessa Anota
Project Administrator
Development Communications Network
Tel.: +234-802-3389-575
mailto:devcoms@yahoo.com
mailto:tessanota@yahoo.com