By Fatmata Grace Okekearu Bo City
A two-day training workshop, held on the 27th and 28th of May 2024, equipped with 50 female journalists, women’s rights activists, and students from Njala University with essential fact-checking and digital literacy skills. This significant event was hosted at Dohas Hotel in Bo City by the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) in collaboration with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), with funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana.
Ms. Dora Boamah, Programme Director at the Media Foundation for West Africa, addressed the participants, emphasizing the importance of integrating the acquired skills into their daily routines to enhance their reporting quality and contribute to improved newsroom standards. She highlighted that accurate information dissemination is crucial in today’s media landscape.
Dr. Francis Sowa, Executive Director of the MRCG, noted that this was the third such training session held in Sierra Leone, though it marked the first time the workshop was conducted outside the capital, Freetown. He expressed his expectation that participants would utilize these skills effectively and act as ambassadors of digital literacy, sharing their newfound knowledge with others to foster a more informed community.
The workshop, which focused on empowering women in the media with the tools to fact-check and navigate digital platforms responsibly, is a step towards mitigating misinformation and enhancing the quality of journalism in the region. The initiative underscores the commitment of MRCG, MFWA, and their partners to support the professional development of female journalists and activists, thereby contributing to a more reliable and robust media environment in Sierra Leone.
