Participants and resource persons in a group photograph
A total of twenty journalists from private and state owned media received training on disability reporting between December 1 and 2 under the Media Capacity Building Initiative for Reporting on Disability (MCBIRD) programme organised by Young Africa Media Centre and sponsored by the US Embassy, Ghana.
The two-day residential training, which was held in Takoradi, took the fellows through creative reporting on disability, the right language style, the use of tone, disability laws, ethics and many more. The fellows who have embarked on various projects in disability reporting shared their previous and future works on disability, which was fine-tuned by the facilitators.
Madam Esther Cobbah, CEO of Stratcomm Africa; Mr. Philip Acquaye, Head of Department of Communication – BlueCrest University College; Mr. David Dankwa-Apawu, Senior Lecturer – Department of Language and Communication Skills, Ghana Institute of Journalism; Beth Haller, Co-Director – Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (GADIM); and Mr. Alexander Nyame, Coordinator – Ministry of Persons with Disability, Church of Pentecost were the facilitators who took the participants through the training.
The fellows were also engaged in ignite sessions with Mr. Wilson Arthur (CEO, Skyy Media Group) and Madam Joyce Okyere Aseidu, Press and Media Specialist, US Embassy Ghana.
The fellowship ended with the Media for Disability Awards and Dinner, which awarded Beatrice Senadju (Editor, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) as the Best Journalist for Reporting on Disability and Ivan Korshie Heathcote-Fumador (Journalist, Ultimate FM) as the Best Journalist Living with a Disability.
A representative from the US Embassy Ghana, Madam Victoria Oliver noted, “So why is the United States government, along with the Ghanaian leaders here today, supporting this issue of more inclusive reporting?
“It is because we recognise the inherent value of people with disabilities as individuals and acknowledge the collective value of their contributions and their participation in schools, workplaces and communities everywhere.”
Speaking at the awards, the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah mentioned that, “the voice that you have as the media should be used for the benefit of all the people you represent.”
The General Manager for the Young Africa Media Center, Mr. Stephen Selasie Asuo used the opportunity to thank the partners for their support over the years and congratulated the 2022 fellows for going through the programme and dedicating their work to helping those living with disability.