Jowhar – The African Union Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has supported the Hirshabelle Ministry of Information to conduct a three-day training to support journalists on basic media skills in Jowhar, the capital of Hirshabelle State of Somalia.
The training forms part of efforts to support the Ministry of Information and independent media to build the capacity of journalists and encourage fact checking to discourage fake news as well as ensure the safety of journalists in combat situations.
The opening and closing ceremonies of the three day event were attended by senior officials from the regional administration including the Mayor of Jowhar, Mohamed Hassan Barise, Jowhar District Commissioner, Osman Mohamed Mukhtar Barey, Hirshabelle Deputy Minister of Commerce Mohamed Yusuf Olow, and the Hirshabelle State Minister for Health, Muhyiddin Muallim Mukhtar.
At the closing ceremony, the Hirshabelle State Minister for Information, Omar Mohamed Soomane, emphasized the essential contributions of journalists to peace and nation-building.
“This training was made possible to strengthen the cooperation between the Ministry and the independent media and improve the knowledge and quality of the media. We believe the knowledge you have acquired will be useful for the media organisations you work with and benefit your colleagues who were not fortunate enough to attend this training.”
The General Director of the Hirshabelle Ministry of Information, Yasin Ahmed Mohamed, thanked ATMIS for the support and underscored the importance of the training, while calling for more similar trainings to be organized.
“The aim of this training is to improve the skills and knowledge of the journalists and also the Ministry and the media teams to come together, get to know each other, and discuss how to work together. The team gained valuable lessons on several levels, including how to avert fake and controversial news that can cause rifts in the community,” said Mohamed.
“We want to extend our gratitude to ATMIS, who played a special role for this project; thanks to the ATMIS team in general and, in particular, the trainer they sent for us. We hope this will be the beginning of many pieces of training to come and support us to enhance the skills and knowledge of the media team at an international level,” he added.
Ifrah Muse Abdulle, a journalist in Jowhar who participated in the training, said she had gained valuable knowledge and was ready to put into practice the skills acquired.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the State Ministry of Information for giving us this amazing opportunity. I am delighted to be a part of this training; we gained valuable lessons which have enhanced our journalism skills, our understanding of media and how media is important in our line of duty has improved,” said Ifrah.
Another participant, Abdirahman Mohamed, said the training had been engaging, particularly the various discussions on how to avoid fake news and the safety of journalists in war zones.
“We discussed at length the consequences of fake news and how we can avoid it. The reporters’ safety discussions in the war zone areas were refreshing. We gained invaluable knowledge, which will benefit society,” said Abdirahman, a journalist based in Jowhar.