Twenty young journalists completed training improving their professional skills in Mogadishu

Mogadishu, Thursday, July 20, 2023: The Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) has finalized training with young, newly employed journalists across Somalia on professional skills in Mogadishu.

The 2 -day training workshop held from 19th to 20th July 2023 at Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu hosted for 20 young journalists coming from various media outlets, including radio stations, freelancers, journalism students (Somali National University), Bilan Media (Somalia’s first all-women media ) and Hamar Newspaper.

In his opening remarks for the training, Farah Omar Nur, Secretary General of FESOJ pointed out the intention is to improve the professional capacity of the young journalists, especially in the ethics of journalism which is required to be practically adopted.

“FESOJ is taking positive direction by promoting the capacity of young journalists and raising the understanding of ethical obligation, there is a need for change, and we expect the trained journalists to put into practice what they have learned in future, said Mohamed Osman Makaraan, the Somali Media Association Secretary General (SOMA).

Abdulkadir Adde, Director of Private Media Relations, Ministry of Information, had stated to be welcoming and supporting the training initiative for the young journalists, which he said will eventually enable them to make balanced and fair reporting.

Mohamed Mohamud Adde, Senior Media Trainer, has indicated that FESOJ is working towards protecting the safety of journalists, improving their professional skills and confidence.

During the 2-day training proceedings, the participants were taken through the main themes of Journalism ethics, media law, gender-sensitive reporting, use of social media – roles and critiques and combating disinformation.

One of the participants, Abdiaziz Mohamud Mohamed from Hamar Newspaper, appreciated FESOJ for the training opportunity, which he described to have increased their knowledge on media regulation, media ethics, gender-sensitive reporting and prevention of violence against vulnerable people.

In his closing remarks, Farah Omar Nur, the Secretary General of FESOJ, expressed to be delighted with successfully concluding the 2 – day training for the newly young employed journalists with basic professional skills and what is believed to be important for the media,

including how to cover gender sensitive issues.
Furthermore, he mentioned that young journalists were exposed to other themes, including disinformation, dealing with social media carefully and the ethics that generally safeguard professional skills.
“The Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) intends to implement similar training workshops with newly employed journalists in the major regional states across Somalia.” Farah Omar Nur, the Secretary General of FESOJ, pointed out.

The training workshop is part of program activities funded by the EU, supported by Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and implemented by FESOJ in cooperation with VIKES.