For immediate release
December 1, 2008
For more information:
Lindsey Wray
(202) 496-1992
LWray@iwmf.org
New IWMF Workbook Offers Step-by-Step Guide to In-House Training for Journalists
Workbook Launch will Coincide with World AIDS Day Events
Washington, D.C. – The International Women’s Media Foundation has launched a new online publication designed to help media trainers and journalists implement in-house training.
The goal of the newly developed workbook is to expand the IWMF’s in-house training model by enabling all media organizations to use proven techniques. The workbook, a self-directed online training module, includes detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to establish an in-house media training project, sample lesson plans and materials, and training and mentoring tips. It is on the IWMF Web site at: www.iwmf.org/article.aspx?id=784&c=hivaids and will also be introduced to journalists in the IWMF network in Africa during events in Kenya and Botswana to commemorate World AIDS Day 2008.
The workbook is based on the successes of the IWMF’s Maisha Yetu project, which are documented in the IWMF’s 2006 publication, Writing for Our Lives. Because of its unique approach, the IWMF’s in-house training model can be adapted to train journalists on various topics.
From 2003-2007, the IWMF piloted a multi-country news media training project called Maisha Yetu, meaning ‘Our Lives’ in Swahili. Spearheaded by African health journalists under the supervision of a project manager, the project was created to improve reporting efforts around HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria by working closely with media houses in Botswana, Kenya and Senegal. It produced clearly successful results, creating practical and sustainable measures to help African news media improve their coverage of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Maisha Yetu workshops involved more than 1000 journalists, at least 50 percent of whom were women.
Key accomplishments of the Centers of Excellence include:
• Mmegi newspaper in Botswana established a health desk.
• A database of 250 journalists in Kenya working on health stories was created to help them share information and tips.
• In Senegal, Sud FM broadcast approximately 40 stories on its weekly national health program between September 2004 and June 2005. In addition, stories done on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria by reporters in the provinces increased by 20-30 percent.
In 2007, using this proven training model, the IWMF launched Reporting on Women and Agriculture: Africa. Working with three media houses in Mali, Uganda and Zambia, the project’s goal is to improve the quality and consistency of reporting on agriculture.
Founded in 1990, the International Women's Media Foundation is a vibrant global network dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the news media worldwide as a means to further freedom of the press. The IWMF network includes women and men in the media in more than 130 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.iwmf.org.
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