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Sports Journalist Training Underway

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:37:02 GMT

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

A four-day training course for sports journalists kicked-off yesterday at the Gambia Press Union GPU headquarters at

Garba Jahumpa Road

in Bakau.

The participants were drawn from the print and electronic media and the training course is organised by Media Agenda and sponsored by NATCOM.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the permanent secretary Department of Youth and Sport, Mr. Mambayick Njie, said that sport is important to our health. He further challenged sport reporters to be diverse in their reporting on the various sporting disciplines and on sport infrastructure.

PS Njie commended Media Agenda for organising the course which he said will go a long way in improving the standard of sports reporting in The Gambia. He urged the participants to take the training seriously.

For his part, the director of Media Agenda, Mr. Madi Ceesay, informed the participants that the training is organised by Media Agenda and Natcom. He expressed his organisation’s willingness to train young journalists in the country.

The president of The Gambia Press Union, Ndey Tapha Sosseh, said that her office is ever ready to work with Media Agenda in the promotion and development of Gambian journalists especially the young ones.

Author: Lamin Darboe

Source: Picture: Mambanyick Njie

Unesco – Natcom, Media Agenda journalist training ends

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:36:28 GMT

Monday, December 22, 2008

The four-day training of 30 journalists drawn from both print and electronic media houses in The Gambia, organized by Media Agenda and funded by Unesco – Natcom recently ended at Tango conference hall in Bakau.

The training is part of activities and commitments of Unesco’s programme from 2008 to 2013 medium term strategies to assist its member countries build capacities of information and communication professionals, to create, disseminate and preserve information and knowledge, while upholding high ethical and professional standards.

Ousman Yaboe, director general of Tango, descried the four-day training as a laudable initiative by Media Agenda and Natcom with support from Unesco. He spoke at length on the role of journalists in the development of any given society.

He then urged journalists to resolve and cooperate in accordance with the code of conduct governing their operation. “Without information, there cannot be any development and information of any kind has to be authentic for consumption” he said. He then urged Media Agenda and Unesco, to maintain their support in building the capacities of media practitioners.

Maimuna Sidibeh, who deputised for secretary general of Natcom, Sukai Bojang, assured her office’s readiness to support media practitioners in The Gambia through capacity building. She expressed profound gratitude to the participants on behalf of Unesco Head Office in Paris through Natcom. She revealed that the training is the beginning of series of training programmes her office embarked on.

Madi Ceesay, director general of Media Agenda, assured journalists of his institution’s readiness towards building the capacities of Gambian journalists. Mr Ceesay thanked participants for responding to their invitation and expressed hope that the training will impact on their performance.

Binta Fatty, reporter from The Point Newspaper, delivered the vote of thanks on behalf of the participants.

Author: by Sanna Jawara & Sheriff Janko

Media Agenda Trains 30 Journalists

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:37:43 GMT

Friday, December 19, 2008

A four-day training workshop for 30 journalists of middle manager level ended yesterday at the Tango Resource Centre. The programme was organised by Media Agenda and funded by NATCOM. The programme brought together 30 participants from different media houses.

Mr. Madi K. Ceesay, the managing director of Media Agenda, gave credit to NATCOM for making the idea of training journalist a reality. Mr. Ceesay pledged that this programme will last for three months and 170 journalists will benefit from training. There will be various types of training ranging from basic journalism to management and some specialist areas like court reporting will also be touched upon. Mr. Ceesay stated that media agenda will come up with a lead across the country to train the court reporters. He urged the participants to take the training seriously and make the best use of it. Mr. Ceesay notified the participants that journalists are out for construction and not destruction and warned them to be mindful of news items that can be destructive. He finally thanked the participants for turning up.

Deputising for the Secretary of State for Information Communication and Information Technology, Mr. Darboe performed the official opening. In his opening remarks that training is good for the Journalist. He highlighted that the ethics of every journalist should be to be truthful in their job. He added that they work for the society and therefore the journalist should work accordingly. He finally commended Media Agenda and the funders NATCOM.

Mr. Cherno Jallow the first presenter spoke on the importance of photophobic writing and urged the participants to write clearly in their stories so that the readers will easily understand.

Author: Malamin Conteh & Binta Fatty

Veteran journalist on news presentation

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:42:12 GMT

Friday, December 19, 2008

Alhajie Sering Faye, the director Radio and Television Programmes at The Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) has said that in order to be a good presenter, one needs to have the composure in reaching out to his or her audience.

“To be a good news presenter, you got to have the experience and writing skills. Experience is very important in the World of media, especially journalist”, Mr Faye said.

Mr Faye made these remarks while presenting a paper on “news presentation” at the ongoing four-days training of 30 journalist drowned from the print and electronic media at the TANGO Resource Centre organized by Media Agenda with Funding from UNESCO -NATCOM-Banjul Office.

He described radio as the easiest fact and means of reaching out to the people. He said “radio is capable enough to bring the whole country closer and the most important about it, is that, it seems like the presenter is talking to another person face to face”.

Mr Faye spoke at length on the qualities that make someone be a good news presenter such as good voice, composure, experience and skills. He added that clarity and credibility are other important elements in news presentation.

Mr faye further made emphasis on the need to preserve and improve on ones voice when presenting news “Good voice of news presenter is a an important commodity which needs to be treasured”, he concluded

Author: by Sheriff Janko & Sanna Jawara

GRTS SMRP on responsible journalism

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:12:45 GMT

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Mrs Sabel Badjane, the Senior Manager Radio Programmes at the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) Radio, has urged journalists to stick to the code of conducts guiding the profession.

“All noble professions have their ethical code of conducts and the journalism profession is not an exception. Journalists must be seen to up hold the code of conduct guiding the operations of the profession” she said.

The renowned GRTS broadcaster made these observations while presenting a paper on the ethics of journalism on day one of a four-day training workshop for journalists, drawn from both the print and electronic media, organized by Media Agenda and funded by UNESCO - NATCOM at the TANGO conference hall.

Madam Badjane defined ethics as a set of rules that guides operations of a particular profession. According to her, journalists must always be guided by a code of conduct, which encompasses responsible journalism.

For the GRTS veteran female broadcaster, a journalist must present factual, accurate and balance information. “A journalist most up hold and retain his/ her credibility” she said.

She equally urged media practitioners to familiarise themselves with some of the legal provisions governing their profession citing laws regarding libel, slander, deformation, giving false information, contempt of court among others as examples which journalists must be aware of in order to avoid problems with the law or to avoid being found wanting.

Mrs Badjane then advised journalists to be writing reports and avoid any personal feelings and opinion to intrude their facts. .

Author: by Sanna Jawara

Media Agenda, NATCOM train journalists

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:13:16 GMT

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A four-day capacity building training for about 30 journalists from the print and electronic media yesterday kicked-off at the Tango Resource Centre in Bakau New Town.

Organised by the Media Agenda with funding from the UNESCO-NATCOM Banjul office, the four-day training was meant to assist member countries to build capacity in information and communication professionals and to preserve information and knowledge while upholding high ethical and professional standards.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ousman Yaboe, the director of Tango, underscored the importance of the training adding that capacity building training is crucial in ensuring ethical standards. He commended Media Agenda for their foresight in coming up with such a training programme for journalists.

For his part, Madi K Ceesay, the director of Media Agenda, expressed gratitude to NATCOM for their cooperation noting that this training programme will last for three months during which over 170 Gambians will be trained.

According to him, the training will be on key areas like basic reporting skills, court reporting and health.Yahya Al-Matarr Jobe, the programme officer for education and science at NATCOM, on behalf of the secretary general of NATCOM - Sukai Bojang said journalists play a crucial role in the socio-economic development of any nation noting that they should maintain high ethical standards in executing their job.

"You inform, educate and entertain the public. I am aware must of you are performing your role efficiently," he said. According to him, with such training programmes media practitioners will do their work more efficiently.

In opening the forum, Sulayman Darboe, the principal secretary at the Department of State for Information, Communication and Information Technology, deputizing for SoS Fatim Badjie-Janneh, said it is important for journalists to report accurately and be truthful. He urged journalists to preserve what he called our cherished traditional cultural norms and values at all times.

He assured media practitioners on behalf of SoS Badjie-Janneh of his department’s support whenever the need arises.

Author: by Sheriff Janko & Sanna Jawara

TOP CLASS: Sub-regional workshop for Educational leadership kicks-off

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:39:04 GMT

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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

As part of its Action Plan 2007-2009, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), in collaboration with the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) and The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM), yesterday, began a three-day sub-regional workshop for educational leadership on the devising of learning materials and curricula and development of design, training and assessment methods, at the Sunset Beach Hotel in Kotu.

The workshop is being conducted by two international experts from ISESCO and a Gambian expert. The workshop also brought together participants from Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso and The Gambia. The theme for the workshop is centred on: “Preparation of teaching aids and the development of curricula and training methods.”

In his opening remarks, Mr Babucarr Boye, permanent secretary, Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education, revealed that in The Gambia, they are reviewing the curricula for the Basic Cycle Schools. As a result, he noted, they are mindful that education should be relevant to each child, thus they aim at devising a sound, coherent and up-to-date standard curriculum with adequate teaching aids.

“Just as these issues are being addressed for the formal system, the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education is not leaving behind the Madrassah, which are currently using the synchronised curriculum” he disclosed.

According to him, they recently conducted a series of in-service training activities for Arabic teachers on methods and curriculum development. He noted that soon these Arabic-Islamic teachers will be tasked to revisit and revise the existing curriculum which is not responsive to their socio-economic goals. Also, he said, publishers are being invited to print learning materials for the teaching of the Arabic language in schools.

“You will no doubt agree that we want to provide the same educational conditions for all children irrespective of which type of school they attend; therefore, we will have to equip Arabic/Islamic teachers with the skills for the development of relevant instructional approaches and materials,” he said.

He added that, this sub-regional workshop for education specialists ‘on the educational preparation of teaching aids and the development of curricula and training methods’ is timely.

“It complements our efforts since it aims at improving the Arabic teaching curricula, the quality of training and promotes diversification of teaching methods. Earlier this year, ISESCO funded a training session for Arabic/Islamic teachers in which ICT applications were introduced to enhance teaching methodology and learning and this was a milestone in the development and teaching of Arabic as a second language,” he went on.

He commended ISESCO for the immense efforts deployed in order to support member states in their drive to bring quality to their education systems, and also the World Islamic Call Society, which collaborated with ISESCO in funding the workshop. ‘‘I wish to extend the appreciation of the secretary of state for Basic and Secondary for their active participation in education,’’ he added.

For her part, Dr Khadija Albadawi, ISESCO representative, extended his organisation’s commitment to supporting Islamic/Arabic education to achieve its aim and aspirations for better Islamic/Arabic teachings and also promised that her office will provide all the necessary materials for the attainments of these goals.

Author: by Mariatou Ngum-Saidy & Asanatou Bojang

Human resources investment vital in achieving Vision 2020 ...Says NATCOM Secretary General

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:22:28 GMT

Friday, July 18, 2008

Sukai Bojang, the Secretary General of The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM), has said that The Gambia is a country that must invest in its human resources, if it is to meet its Vision 2020 goal, that is:

To transform The Gambia into a financial centre, a tourist paradise, a trading, export-oriented agricultural and manufacturing nation, driving on free market policies and a vibrant private sector, sustained by a well-educated, trained, skilled, healthy, self-reliant and enterprising population and guaranteeing a well-balanced eco-system and a decent standard of living for everyone and all under a system of government based on the consent of the citizenry.”

She made these remarks on Monday, during the official opening ceremony of a regional workshop on educational and Islamic schools, held at the Baobab Holiday Resort in Bijilo.

Mrs Bojang described the workshop organised by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), as yet another manifestation of the organisation’s commitment to building capacity of member states in the fields of education, science, culture and communication.

“For this year, ISESCO has accompanied the education sector of The Gambia in its drive to support the Arabic/Islamic schools. So far, two training programmes have been conducted here and another one is planned for October 2008.

One of the boarding schools for girls, Aisha Oumoul Al Mumineen of Kanifing has been provided with assistance to acquire audio-visual teaching aids for the school,” she observed.

For his part, Baboucarr Boye, permanent secretary at the department of state for Basic and Secondary Education, said the government of The Gambia, under President Jammeh’s leadership, has demonstrated a lot of commitment in the field of education and in the development of the country.

He added that this commitment has also been demonstrated in the area of Arabic/Islamic education, by giving special attention to the Madrassas, as evidenced in the establishment of a Madrassa Unit under the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education, and also the creation, through the proprietors of the Madrassas, of the General Secretariat for Islamic and Arabic Education.

PS Boye revealed that the Madrassa institutions contribute about 15% towards the Gross Enrolment Ratio at the primary level and provide a lot of opportunities for secondary education as well.

Dr Youssef Abou Daka, the ISESCO Representative, said throughout their history, the Arabic Islamic schools have had a distinctive role in stabilising and widening the identity of Muslim nations, as they contribute immensely in the improvement of human, economic and social indicators in these nations through reduction of illiteracy and providing youths with practical skills, scientific, and theoretic upgrading of their capacities, and also reinforce them with values for which they will organise work and earnings.

“It also contributed to the reinforcement of the modern educational institutions with the administrative, scientific, and administrative experts, scholars of jurisprudence and preachers through centuries,” he revealed. The ISESCO rep also said that his organisation will continue in its efforts to collaborate with different stakeholders in order to support the Arabic/Islamic institutions in their positive practices, so as to realise their effectiveness in the quest for the protection of the original message of Islam through memorisation of the Holy Quran and spreading of Islamic values.

Author: by Assan Sallah

Modernization of Islamic teaching training underway

Wed, 28 May 2008 13:48:38 GMT

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

As part of its action plan for 2007-2009, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISECO), in collaboration with the Munazzamat Al Dawa Al Islamiyya and The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM), on Monday, began a three-day national training session in the field of Modernising Islamic Education Teaching Methods (MIETM) in The Gambia, at the Corinthia hotel in Banjul.

Over 30 Islamic education teachers are attending the training which aims at promoting Islamic education in the education system of Non-Arab member states like The Gambia.

Welcoming participants at the start of the training, Sukai Bojang, NATCOM secretary general said the training session was meant to build the capacities of Islamic eduction teachers in modern trends of instruction. She added that the use of modern equipment such as computers, overhead projectors and power point projectors in teaching, will be an important feature in the training programme.

Dr Ahmed Azzabakh, a representative from ISESCO, described the training as important and unique. He noted that The Gambia government had adopted a “Broad base” concept of education as the most suitable system for this country. “Since Islam is a way of life, modernising the teaching methods of Islamic education is a basic need for all educational institutions concerned ” he said.

He then commended ISECO, the World Islamic Call Society, Munazzamat Al Dawa Al-Islamiyya and all other stakeholders for their tremendous contributions towards the training.

Tayeb A Gadir Al Jayeb, the assistant regional director of Munazzamat Al Dawa Al Islamiyya, dilated on the signifance of education to humanity, noting that education is the key to development. He also thanked UNESO and Gambia government for their support.

Declaring the training opened, Imam Baba Leigh, vice chairman of c said modernazing the teaching methods in Islamic education would be very relevant and should not be limited in education only but to other areas. He also commended the Gambia government, Munazzamat and UNESCO for their support to the training and urged participants to utilise the knowledge and make best use of it.

Author: by Bekai Njie

New UNESCO education project for Gambia

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:56:15 GMT

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Basic Education on Africa Programme (BEAP) a newly established project for Africa has now arrived in The Gambia, with UNESCO taking the lead in the implementation of the project. The Gambia, Rwanda and Ethiopia are choosen as pilot countries of the project.

The project (BEAP) has identified three areas of immediate attention, namely; Education, Curriculum Policy and Framework, Entrepreneurship Education and Competencies and Skills Development.

It was to this effect that UNESCO, together with The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO, organised a stakeholders conference at the Jerma Beach Hotel from 22nd - 23rd April, 2008, in order to define The Gambia’s framework under the Basic Education in Africa programme.

In her welcoming remarks, Sukai Bojang, Secretary General of The Gambia National Commission (NATCOM) said it is pleasing to know that The Gambia is the first pilot country for the Basic Education Africa Programme (BEAP).

She expressed hoped that the stakeholders conference will make a lot of progress, so that Rwanda and Ethiopia will find things easy.

The NATCOM Secretary General also thanked their friends and partners for honouring their invitations.

For his part, Crispin Grey Johnson, Secretary of State for Higher Education, Research Science and Technology, expressed delight that such an important project has come to The Gambia, adding that this country really stands to benefit from this project if it is taken seriously.

“This is a project that speaks to the problems of quality and of relevance in education,” he noted.

SoS Grey Johnson described quality and relevance education as two areas that have escaped policy makers, planners and practitioners for decades, adding that they have not been able to handle the problems of quality and of relevance in African education.

SoS Grey Johnson also urged the stakeholders to look at the Vision 2020 and Silicon Valley Projects during their deliberations.

Ann-Therese Ndong-Jatta, director of Basic Education - UNESCO in Paris, France said the BEAP project is the strategy for the implementation of the Kigali call for Action which was the result of the Regional Workshop on basic education held in 2007 in Kigali, Rwanda.

“The Kigali workshop addressed the issue of the ailing and outmoded system of education in Africa which has ceased to adequately meet the learning needs of students, communities and the continent as a whole,” she revealed.

The focus of the Kigali meeting was centred on the question of what type of basic education and the purpose of education in Africa. Based on the general agreement that the present education is fragmented and structured on a school model which has outlived its usefulness and failing the bulk of its usefulness and failing the bulk of its student population. There was a call for reform and action, she noted.

In declaring the workshop open, Fatou Lamin Faye, Secretary of State for Basic and Secondary Education, said in our National Education Policy, 2004 - 2015, basic education has been defined as comprising early childhood development, nine years of schooling, (Grade 1-9), as well as adult and non-formal education.

“We are committed to seeing the gross enrolment ratio at early childhood development centres increased by fifty percent by the end of the plan,” revealed.

However, SoS Faye went on, the basic education sector still faces the challenge of providing the children with an education that equips them with the skills that are required in the world of work.

“”Cognisant of these challenges, we have been periodically reviewing progress in service delivery and how far we have gone in meeting the six education for All Goals”, she noted.

She thanked UNESCO and its partners for making The Gambia a pilot country for BEAP and expressed deep appreciation to their partners both in The Gambia and outside for being by their side in their drive to provide efficient and effective services to our people.

Other speakers include Mr Vitalie Muntean, UNDP Resident Representative in The Gambia, Vidgis Cristofoli, Education Specialist, UNICEF WCARO and Judicial Etienne Porgo, Lead Education Officer, African Development Bank.

Author: by Assan Sallah