The United Nations Information Centre has trained 51 Journalists covering the office of the President and Vice President of Nigeria.
The State House Press Corps Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Anule, disclosed this in an interview with Voice of Nigeria.
He said the two-day training which took place in Lagos, centred on development and the future of the society.
According to Mr Anule, “The United Nations through its Sustainable Development Goals, specifically the UN Information Centre, has been promoting the issue of solutions-oriented and sustainability development Journalism.
“This also has to do with development and preservation of the environment as well as the future of the society. So, what they are doing is encouraging Journalists to adopt this concept and get oriented with it for the need of promoting society development generally.
“Last year for instance, the UN Information Centre trained about 50 Journalists across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria and they have now extended that to members of the State House Press Corps given the fact that that is the number one beat in Nigeria. Journalists operating in the State House are in a very sensitive environment, where they need to further understand the need for nationalism and national security, thus, this training.”
Gains
The State House Press Corps Chairman said the trading has now widened the horizon of participants, adding that they are now better prepared for their task of covering the seat of power.
“Everyone who wants to be knowledgeable understands that training and re-training is very important. So, understanding the idea of sustainability Journalism is very helpful for Correspondents who are attached to the presidential villa.
“As a participant, I have learnt a lot despite being a student of Journalism, no knowledge is useless. The resource persons that came from the UN, have opened our horizons more on some of the things that we had ignored in the past.
“The centre of Journalism is disseminating information that is factual to the public. So this is important for us and it is a good experience we are taking back to Abuja because I believe that it will impact further on the way we practice Journalism in the seat of power,” Dr Anule revealed.
The Chairman used the opportunity to appeal to those at the helm of affairs to continue to provide the right atmosphere for Journalists covering the seat of power to serve the nation better.
He further advocated the sustenance of a positive relationship between security agencies and Journalists, for national development.
Participants at the two-day training included Reporters, Photographers and Videographers from both the print and electronic media and the theme for the event was “Promoting Solutions-Oriented and Sustainability Journalism in a Modern Democracy.”
Dominica Nwabufo
