Journalists go to school in ICT

Accra, Oct. 2, GNA - The first in the series of training programmes to provide basic knowledge for selected journalists in ICT throughout the country began in Accra on Monday.

The training, which is being organized by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) with the support of UNESCO/International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC)/Japanese Funds-in-Trust (JFIT) Project, would benefit about 60 journalists.

Speaking at the opening, Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister of Information and National Orientation, said the move to equip Journalists with ICT knowledge was in line with the Government's policy of ICT for Accelerated Development Policy, which envisioned the transformation of Ghana into an information-rich knowledge-based society and economy. He said by applying their knowledge in ICT to solve problems many countries had succeeded in growing their economies and transforming the lives of their citizens. The Minister said the Project was to strengthen the human resource capacity of Journalists in ICT and improve understanding of internet use and their ability to use simple and complex search engines for research.

It also gives an opportunity to improve the capacity of the trainees to use the computer for page planning, layout and design and improve on their skills in digital age journalism/on-line-journalism. Mr Bartels said the objectives were in line with the call on Journalists to switch from the old way of doing things to new trends, which were robust and effective.

Mr Ransford Tetteh, GJA President, bemoaned the low level of access to ICT facilities by journalists.

"Many a time, and in fact where they are available, they are often =85limited to an elite group, the editors and senior management personnel."

He said the project was meant to demystify the use of computers and to encourage Journalists to employ ICT as a permanent research tool and improve on their capacity to use the computer for page planning, layout and design and improve on their skills in digital age journalism. Mrs Elzabeth Moundo, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Accra, said UNESCO advocated balanced and ethical reporting of the highest quality and expressed the hope that the course would help to increase the overall quality of journalism in the country. Fifteen new ultra-modern flat screen computers and other state of the art accessories have been installed at the caf=E9, bringing the number of computers in to 20.

The total cost of the project including procurement and installation of equipment, ICT needs assessment study and the training of participants is estimated at 66,670 dollars. 2 Oct. 06