Call for Journalist Capacity Building Training

UN Women Ethiopia Country office, under its regional project, “African Women Changing the Narrative, is calling on interested journalists to apply for its capacity building training on “Gender Responsive Story Telling and Documenting Stories of Success” scheduled to take place 8-11 August 2017.

The project, African Women Changing the Narrative is courtesy of a three-year grant from the Austrian Development Cooperation. It aims to highlight the contribution by African women to development through their leadership capacities and their central role in the design of innovative approaches to development. It provides a platform for the mobilization of a movement towards a revised and positive narrative from and about African women. It is also used as a platform for inspiration and information sharing of stories of impact by and for women. Consequently, the virtual platform is a brand for “Changing the Narrative” and provides a source of information and a tool for knowledge management to advance the cause of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The first journalist training was organized by UN Women Ethiopia Country Office (ECO) Liaison to the African Union and the African Union Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security under the theme, “Gender-Responsive Reporting in Conflict, Post-Conflict and Fragile settings in Africa” on 18 and 19 October 2016, followed by African Union Peace and Security Council Open Session on the “Role of the media in promoting Women, Peace and Security” on 20 October 2016. The workshop brought together journalists, editors, reporters and bloggers who cover conflict-affected areas in Africa, representing both traditional and new media, including print, audio-visual and electronic media. It also targeted media practitioners who work for Pan-African, regional and national media outlets and organisations with influential reach and key audiences.

 

The African Union Commission, UN Women, and the Federal Republic of Germany also organized a high- level “Women Leaders Forum for Africa’s Transformation”, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in early June, 2017. The three-day forum brought together over 80 women leaders including former Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers, Members and a Speaker of Parliament, political party leaders and presidential candidates, Cabinet Ministers, local government leaders, private sector representatives, civil society activists and young women leaders. The three-day forum culminated in the launch of the African Women Leaders Network, a new initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa with a focus on governance, peace and stability. There is therefore an opportunity and possible linkage presented for direct engagement between the journalists and women leaders, as the next meeting of the African Women Leaders Network is scheduled to convene in Addis Ababa, in February 2018.

The proposed training workshop and practical engagement aim to promote gender-sensitive reporting, positive storytelling that accurately portrays African women in a positive way rather than as victims and subordinate in society.

A key element of this area will also be to popularize and populate the UN Women Platform “African Women Changing the Narrative” to key media to use it as a resource as well as to contribute content for the platform.

The training workshop will begin with a 2 day of theoretical discussion and then a two days reporting engagement where participants will have the opportunity and access to several women leaders whereby they use the skills they learnt to produce stories of changed narratives for the project website http://awctn.unwomen.org/en

UN Women arranges travel and in-country logistics for 15 participants.

The training is open to 15 participants with the following requirements:

• Journalists working in all forms of media like broadcast, print, web, radio, video, and photo journalism may apply.

• Only journalists who are from and based in Africa are eligible.

• Applicants can be either full-time journalists or freelancers with a minimum of five years’experience.

• Experience in reporting on women’s issues is essential for the workshop.

• Having already published articles on the positive contribution of women, or changed narratives Personal motivation for reporting on the importance of Changed narratives and commitment to continue working.

• Ability to travel for the full duration of the workshop.

Applicants can send their CV together with the articles applicants published and a letter of motivation indicating the following:

• What is applicant’s motivation for participating in the training workshop? How does it relate to their work?

• What kind of stories are planning to publish after the workshop?

• What is applicant’s basic knowledge on changed narratives on African women?

• Do applicants have their own camera or Smartphone that applicants can bring?

Applicants can send their applications at the address helen.yosef@unwomen.org on or before the application deadline (20 July, 2017)