Journalists in PNG accomplish UN joint training

Twenty local journalists completed a journalist training supported by the United Nations in Papua New Guinea. These prominent journalists, selected from NBC TV/Radio, EMTV, PNGTV, PNGFM, FM100, National, Post Courier, and Wantok Niuspepa, have gone through the week-long training which consisted of a series of practical sessions on research, interviewing, data mining, writing, and the application of ethics and values of journalism. The holistic training was realized through joint funding from the UN System in Papua New Guinea, including from FAO, OHCHR, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, and WHO. Further support was provided by the US State Department for three reporters from NBC's provincial stations in Alotau, Lae, and Madang to participate in the training.

“The United Nations in Papua New Guinea values the media and journalists as key influencers and as vital catalysts to inform people. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals which aim at leaving no one behind, more efforts are required to identify people’s needs, enable them to use their voices, and give people an equal opportunity to access information and services. The media’s role becomes more important than ever in reporting on the issues that people face. The United Nations will continue to support the media to develop their skills,” said Mr. Roy Trivedy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea.

The tailored training was grounded in the country’s context and delivered by two facilitators, Mr. Ian Mannix and Ms. Catherine Graue who under the Media Development Initiative funded by the Australian Broadcasting Cooperation. Localised contents of the training provided the journalists not only the general skills of reporting, but also the substantive knowledge about pressing issues in the country like human rights, gender, health, agriculture, environment conservation, data, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

“I am privileged to be a part of the UN Joint Journalist Training. It was just for five days but I have learnt so much from data journalism to mobile journalism. What I want to do next is to make the stories matter to the people affected by decisions our government makes. I will teach everything I learnt to my colleagues. A huge appreciation goes to the United Nations and the US State Department for supporting this very important training,” said Ms. Theckla Gunga, the news journalist from EMTV.

Photo: Journalists successfully completed the training, posing with Mr. Roy Trivedy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea (third from the left in the front line)