The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in collaboration with its national partner in Burkina Faso, Centre National de Presse – Norbert Zongo (CNP-NZ) will on Wednesday April 25 – Friday, April 27, 2018, hold a three-day training workshop for influential journalists in Burkina Faso.
The training seeks to improve the knowledge of journalists on the governance and anti-corruption frameworks in Burkina Faso and also enhance their skills to effectively report on transparency and accountability issuesin 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 Burkina Faso 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 CNP-NZ 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 Amiso Hotelin Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The Forum will bring together the media, civil society organisations, government representatives and international organisations 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 Burkina Faso.
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 Burkina Faso and to officially launch the MFWA’s Media and Governance project in the country. The Senior Representative of the President, Burkina Faso 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.
