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DUBAWA Ghana, in partnership with the US Embassy and American Spaces, organised a four-day training and workshop for journalists and first-time voters ahead of Ghana’s 2024 election.
The week-long series of workshops was held at the American Space, Agbogba in Accra, from Sep. 16, 2024, to Sep. 20, 2024. The workshop aimed to equip participants with electoral information and digital and fact-checking skills.
The training, which was in two folds saw 18 journalists from various media outlets in Accra taken through the tenets of Media Information Literacy and how to stay informed in this digital era. Trainees were also taken through the nexus between elections fact-checking and information literacy to understand the current state of information disorder and the role of the media in safeguarding democracy. Also, the workshop exposed participants to fact-checking and the various digital tools that can aid their work as journalists.
A cross-section of participants (journalists) on day 2. Image Source: DUBAWA
In his opening remarks, Matthew Asada, the new press attache for the US Embassy in Ghana, reiterated the importance of journalists’ work before, during, and after elections.
‘’It is up to people like you guys to report on that. To see again, what is facts, what is fiction, who is putting out what message, can we fact-check that,” he said.
He added how fascinating it was to see a moderator so equipped to fact-check what Donald Trump had said on presidential debates live on set. He challenged participants to employ the skills they earned from the training to hold politicians accountable during such events, including the upcoming elections.
Matthew Asada, new press attache at US Embassy Ghana. Image Source: DUBAWA.
During her sessions, Dr Aurelia Ayisi, communications lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Ghana, taught journalists about various literacies. She highlighted the impact of digital, news, and media literacy on human rights and its importance in building a robust media landscape ahead of elections.
She further led discussions on the role of the media in democratic rule, the challenges of election reporting, and the crucial balance between neutrality and objectivity.
Dr Aurelia Ayisi, lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana. Image Source: DUBAWA.
Other sessions covered during the first part of the training include understanding information disorder, digital verification skills and tools, Fact-checking as a response to information disorder (with a practical session on claim identification), and the role of journalists and media professionals in safeguarding democracy. This session was led by Nathaniel Kyere Bekoe, fact check/ research officer at DUBAWA, Roselena Ahiable, programs manager, DUBAWA West Africa, Nathan Gadugah, editor, DUBAWA, and Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, researcher, DUBAWA respectively.
Austin Brako-Powers, a researcher at DUBAWA, in an interactive session with journalists. Image Source: DUBAWA.
The second part of the workshop targeted first-time voters and students on Thursday, Sep. 19, 2024, and Friday, Sep. 20, 2024.
In his opening sessions, Dr. Kodwo Boateng, a lecturer at UNIMAC-IJ, highlighted the need to interrogate content to stay on top of media literacy. He encouraged participants to take an interest in media information literacy and partake in political discourse.
During this session, Boateng said, “The Role of Student’s Dialogue on Democratic Values (The Importance of Civic Participation).” Stephen Tindi, a lecturer at UniMAC-GIJ, introduced participants to the need to take an active interest in democracy, in which elections play a crucial role. He taught how civic participation and active involvement help nurture democratic rule.
“All the democracies that we admire were nurtured. Anything that you care about, if you don’t care for it, you’ll lose it. We need to care for all the things that we care for, including our democracy, and we should not leave it to chance. One of the things we can do for our democracy is to get involved. We can care for the government through civic participation, community service, and advocacy. Our democracy gets better when we get involved.”
He encouraged student participants to get involved in electoral processes because elections play a key role in our democracy and determine how future lives and generations will be managed. He advised that civic participation in democratic rule should be within the tenets of the law.
Mr Stephen Tindi and a cross-section of student participants. Image Source: DUBAWA.
Other sessions for student participants covered digital verification and Google tools for fact-checking, research and visualization, understanding information disorder, and fact-checking as a response to information disorder. The sessions were led by Roselena Ahiable, program manager of DUBAWA West Africa, Nathaniel Kyere Bekoe, fact-checker DUBAWA Ghana, and Nathan Gadugah, editor of DUBAWA West Africa.
Photo session with student participants after the training. Image Source: DUBAWA.
The second series of workshops for journalists and first-time voters is scheduled in Kumasi in Oct. 2024.
