Journalists, effective Instrument for change in South Sudan, says MP
By Isaac Vuni
April 26, 2008 (JUBA) — Journalists and communicators are instrumental tools for effective change in the young government of Southern Sudan, the chairperson of specialize committee of Information and Culture in Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLL) in Juba, MP Peter Bashir Bandi, has said.
Bandi said media and journalists play vital role by informing, educating, entertaining and disseminating information to and from government and the populace through electronic, print and alternative mediums.
Officiating one day intensive media training workshop at South Sudan Hotel, today, the lawmaker lauded the efforts of both local and international journalists and communicators in promoting culture of peace and development in the war torn Southern Sudan.
He called on Southern Sudan members of forth estate to seriously take the capacity building training offered to them by the International Republican Institute (IRI) office in Juba and to gain knowledge imparted in them by the facilitators.
He assures the participant that SSLA would establish a website to enable parliamentarians to widely interact with cross section of Southern Sudanese including friendly countries.
“Our people are hungry for information and they want to be informed on what is happening in GoSS, SSLA and current affairs by journalists”. Therefore, he added, “responsibly reporting and constructive criticism are needed from local and international journalists”, he emphasized.
Bandi observed that Southern Sudanese are approaching final stage of their liberation struggle, hence, journalists and social communicators are expected to play additional important role of documenting historical events including promotion of southern Sudanese various cultures for the benefit of the present and future generations.
In his concluding remarks, facilitator Angelo Lokoyome urged journalists to work as a team in addressing issues concerning their welfare and to uphold press law and their code of conduct.
He further stated that the future of journalism is not bleak in southern Sudan because there are good fighters within the members of forth estates.
The IRI resident coordinator, Justin Sigman, appealed to local journalists including parliamentarian reporters to contribute articles to august house magazine and that the second edition would be out in July this year.
Earlier the Director of Public Relation, Information and Protocol of SSLA, the organizer of the workshop, Paul Yoane Bounju, stated that journalists are using their pens and cameras to fight bigger war on behalf of the voiceless majority people of southern Sudan and advice them to be objective and balance in their day today reporting for the benefit of the whole people.
The day long training workshop attended by 21 local journalists tackles the topics on News reporting, magazine specialized writing, editing for parliamentarian reports and journalistic ethics.
The workshop was facilitated by Angelo Lokoyome, former advocacy and communication officer of Sudan Council of Church in Khartoum and Badru Mulumbu, Editor of Citizen newspaper daily in Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, sponsored by IRI in Juba.
(ST)