The ability to tell stories is what makes a journalist, and women journalists in Nigeria have been charged with the need to engage the available digital tools in storytelling, especially as Nigerians engage in issues that have emanated from the concluded 2023 electoral season in the country.
Welcoming the participants that were drawn from nine states in the country to the capacity-building training themed ” Building Digital and Multimedia Story -Telling Skills for Women Journalists”, the Institute for Media and Society’s IMS Programme Manager, Mr. Bamidele Timothy, said the aim of the training was to enable women to build multimedia storytelling skills as baseline studies have shown the skills gap. He said that the women are expected to work together to produce content based on interaction and skills learned.
The women journalists pointed out some of the issues that have plagued them post-election, such as democratic process, hate speech, and ethnic profiling, and were encouraged to demand narratives that would ignite electoral reforms through the stories they would tell.
Audience Development Manager and Social Media Strategist and Trainer, Cyril Usifo Omozokpea, advised the participants to be informed and properly understand the electoral act and any other policy that relates to any issue they tackle, as that would help them while sharing information with the people. He encouraged journalists to probe everything and get the right answers for the people as the media is for the people first, before the government .
On multimedia skills, Development Journalist and Social Media Trainer, Ehi Ohiani, emphasized that trust from the people should propel the journalists in determining stories to tell and how to tell the stories, knowing that value is equally crated from every story shared online.
The 18 women journalists that participated in the training were drawn from Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Osun, Ekiti, Oyo, and Ondo States. The two-day capacity-building training, organized by the Institute for Media and Society in collaboration with the European Union-funded Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria took place in Port Harcourt on May 10 and 11.
Some of the participants who shared their joy at getting the skills at a time like this said they have been equipped with the digital content creation and digital storytelling skills to enhance their careers.
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