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Trust Freddy Herald Correspondent
A delegation from the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency (PICA) group of trainers is in the country to train and provide technical capacity building to local journalists as the nation seeks to foster professionalism and responsible reportage ahead of 2023 polls.
As the country prepares for peaceful elections, it is anticipated that the capacity building training will also ingrain responsible reporting and strengthen the cornerstones of peace and tolerance. The training program, formally begins today and it will cover important topics which include managing election campaigns, journalism and news reporting, managing social media and multi-media platforms in the context of elections as well as combating hegemonic Western narrative.
Speaking during a welcome reception that was held in Harare yesterday for the team, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa expressed optimism that the training will equip local journalists with the necessary skills to handle election coverage.
“I am confident that these study sections will sufficiently capacitate our journalists to deal with election coverage while also broadening their horizons to appreciate the unfolding geopolitical developments that are taking place in the world.
“I am also advised that apart from the political reporters, business journalists and social media experts for all public media entities and select private media houses who will benefit from the training, the Ministry’s Provincial Information Officers (PIOs) have also been earmarked to attend the training programme,” she said.
In support of PICA team, Minister Mutsvangwa said local trainers had also been incorporated into the team to make sure that the training sessions continued to be appropriate for the local setting.
“This inclusive approach will broaden the reach of the skills impartation and thus ensure that transformation of the media landscape will be expedited.
“The programme is also cover social media journalists and cyber teams working as we seek to include online content creators. We are leaving No One and No Place Behind in our endeavour to capacitate our media fraternity,”
This training endeavor, Minister Mutsvangwa said was not just a one-off knee-jerk reaction but rather a development that resonates well with the Second Republic’s continuing reorganization of the media landscape.
The PICA head of delegation, Duha Al-Dweik said the latest development signifies the two countries collective dedication and commitment to empowering media officers.
“Palestine and Zimbabwe both have unique narratives and challenges but yet we have found common ground to share our commitment in the pursuit of of media excellence.
“This program will provide an invaluable platform for media officers to learn from each other collaborate and create long-lasting networks of support throughout this program media officers will have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of media activities that will include seminars workshops and practical training sessions,” she said.
Palestine Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tamer Almassri said: “It is not a just training but we are going to share experience, our expertise are also here to learn.”
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