By Ralph Simeon Sesay
Action Aid and its partners have schooled print and electronic journalists, drawn from the west, south and northern regions of the country, on the African Union, the African Governance Architecture, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance at the Action Aid headquarters in Freetown. The two days workshop was aimed at empowering journalists to understand and report on the structure, composition and mandate of the African Union, the role of the African Governance Architecture and the content and mandate of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
The two day training session was facilitated by Dr. Francis Sowah, Commissioner, Independent Media Commission, and Lecturer Mass Communication, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He noted during the session that the activities of the African Union are grossly under-reported and that Africans lack basic knowledge of the composition of the African Union and its numerous declarations, instruments and decisions.
Mr. Sowa attributed such to the low media coverage of the activities of the Union and it several portfolios, departments, organs and agencies. The two days training, according to the facilitator, would equip journalists with the relevant information to be able to contextualize their daily reporting to the issues around the formulation of the African Union, the African Governance Architecture and, most importantly, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, which are critical to the shared values of the African Union.
The two day session concentrated on topics such as: the formation of the African Union, the composition of the AU, its various Commissions, organs, functions and its shared values as well as the African Governance Architecture, including its role and the content of the African Charter on Elections, Democracy and Governance.
This holding of the two days session for journalists is crafted against the backdrop that journalists would only be better able to report the issues around the African Union and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance when they understand how the institution functions.
The two days session encouraged journalists to use their various media platforms to undertake advocacy roles in collaboration with identified Civil Society organizations in and outside the country in raising public awareness around the activities of the African Union.
The climax of the two days session culminated into exercises in which journalists were practically introduced to the websites of the African Union, the African Governance Architecture and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. Journalists were also introduced to a number of instruments, declarations and decisions of the African Union.
This, according to the facilitator, is to empower journalists to follow up on the activities of the African Union thereby increasing coverage of its activities.This is also expected to further open up public debate around the roles and responsibilities of African Governments to follow up on the scope and mandate of the various Commissions of the African Union and the shared values of the African Union.
Action Aid Sierra Leone is providing support to Civil Society and Media Organizations to hold Governments accountable especially in the provision of service delivery in various communities. It is also working with various civil society, media and youth and women groups.