Participants and speakers in a pose after the workshop
Alliance of Women in Media in Africa (AWMA), in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) organised a two-day workshop in Accra, aimed at empowering women in the media space.
The workshop, which took place between November 12-13, 2024, saw women across the country assembling to discuss the theme: “Empowering Women in Media for Safe Election Reporting.”
The initiative was aimed at empowering women journalists to take an active role in shaping Ghana’s democratic future through their reporting on the 2024 general election.
Topics such as the fundamentals in election reporting, preparation for personal safety when reporting, the election cycle and the journalist’s work, new technologies, investigative journalism & elections, fact-checking, conflict-sensitive reporting, and self-care were discussed.
Dr. Aurelia Ayisi, one of the speakers at the programme, mentioned that gender-based violence against female journalists is being perpetuated all around the world, urging female journalists not to think of it as a Ghanaian or African phenomenon.
She further asked that women journalists desist from posting too much personal information online, to keep their lives as private as possible.
The Programme Officer for Fact-Check Ghana, Kwaku Krobea Asante, gave lessons on fact-checking and its importance. He disclosed that, in this digital era, misinformation and disinformation have become the order of the day, especially in the run-up to elections.
He cited examples of fake videos that were disseminated in the media space during previous elections, aimed towards smearing the names of the various political aspirants.
He mentioned ways through which people disseminate false information as truth to the average Ghanaian.
“Cloning, we see people using the brand names, brand colours of media houses to coin messages and put it out there. When the media house has not done anything like that,” he stated.
He advised that in order to make sure journalists are not deceived by fake news; whether from political parties or institutions, journalists must ensure they are on top of every issue and know enough about an ongoing conversation.
He further advised that journalists pay keen attention to audio and videos, as they can easily be doctored using the right Artificial Intelligence tool, and gave tips on how to check the veracity of such material.
The convenor of AWMA, Mercy C. Adjabeng, concluded the event by giving a speech on building strong connections.
“Essentially, what we are saying is: you need to build a very strong network. Because as women, we are disadvantaged in many things simply because we are women, and that is why it is important to build a very strong network so that at any point in time, you have support,” she pointed out.
By Vera Owusu Sarpong
