The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in collaboration with its national partner in Senegal, La Convention Des Jeunes Reporters Du Senegal (CJRS) will on Wednesday April 18 – Friday, April 20, 2018, hold a three-day training workshop for influential journalists in Senegal.
The training seeks to improve the knowledge of journalists on the governance and anti-corruption frameworks in Senegal and also enhance their skills to effectively report on transparency and accountability issues in the country. The journalists are drawn from radio, online, television and print media.
There will also be a two-day training workshop for key governance institutions and anti-corruption civil society groups in Senegal on effective media engagement and advocacy strategies. Participating civil society groups will receive enhanced knowledge and skills to effectively engage with the media on governance and accountability issues.
Both trainings form part of activities under the MFWA’s Media and Governance project which aims at enhancing public participation in governance by building the capacity of media and key anti-corruption and governance institutions to improve reporting and demand for accountability in governance.
Prior to the trainings, the MFWA and CJRS will hold a forum with key stakeholders on the topic “Promoting Public Participation and Demand for Accountability in Governance: the Role of Stakeholders” at the Maison de la Presse in Dakar, Senegal.
The Forum will bring together the media, civil society organisations, government representatives, the international organisations and the general public to deliberate on how to improve and sustain public participation in governance processes as well as how government authorities can be more responsive to the questions and concerns of the public in Senegal.
The forum will also be used to present the findings of a baseline study on the media’s coverage of transparency and accountability issues in Senegal and to officially launch the MFWA’s Media and Governance project in the country. The Minister for Good Governance and Child Protection in Senegal will officially open the forum and also launch the project.
Key activities under the project include stakeholder engagements, capacity building for journalists and key governance/anti-corruption civil society groups; support for critical and investigative reporting on corruption and accountability issues; and creation of platforms for dedicated media programmes on the issues of Transparency and Accountability.
The project is being implemented with funding support from the US-based William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
